Hatch Chile Express

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What is a Hatch chile?

Saturday, September 8, 2012 in Hatch, New Mexico

A variety of Hatch chiles.

Yesterday I told you a little about the history of Hatch and their famous chiles which seemed to confuse a few people. I talked about how Jim Lytle developed the Big Jim and how his son and grandson created the Lumbria and Legacy chile peppers and a few readers were all, “Wait…but what, exactly, is a Hatch chile?”

There is no chile called Hatch. There’s just a bunch of different long green peppers grown in the Hatch Valley. And even that has become a bit problematic since there are some unscrupulous farmers all over the Southwest and even into Mexico who now grow and market what they call Hatch chiles. (Last year the New Mexico state legislature passed a law making it illegal to sell any chile as New Mexican that wasn’t actually grown there.)

Now this also explains why it is that you can buy Hatch chiles that are mild, medium, hot, or extra hot. They’re all different varieties of Hatch chiles. Here are some of the most popular:

New Mexico 6: This is a very mild, somewhat smallish chile with pods 5-8 inches long.

Big Jim: The granddaddy of Hatch chiles and probably the most famous. They’re medium-hot and generally 7-12 inches long (although Jimmy Lytle has grown some monsters that were 16 inches). If you were looking for a pepper to make chile relleno with, this would be a good pick.

Legacy: This is a newish Hatch chile with thick meat and lots of flavor. It’s somewhere between a New Mexico 6 and Big Jim in heat.

Sandia: True Hatch chile aficionados swear by this baby. It’s hot and spicy with pods 5-9 inches long.

Lumbre: If you’re one of those nuts that just loves the heat in their food, this is what you want. These 4-7 inch peppers are extra hot.

Now there’s also a Hatch chile known as The Ghost Chile that’s even hotter than a Lumbre but it’s a different pepper altogether. They’re similar in size to a habanero but even hotter. At least that’s what people say and I’m going to take their word for it since there’s no way I’m trying one.

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Hatch Chile Express and Big Jim

Friday, September 7, 2012 in Hatch, New Mexico | 1 comment

Hatch Chile Express

Sooner or later all chile lovers end up at the Hatch Chile Express in Hatch, New Mexico.

There are just about a million places to buy chiles in Hatch, from the guy sitting by the side of the road selling 25-lb. bags to all the farmer’s stands up and down the Mesilla Valley which runs from Las Cruces to Hatch, nearly 40 miles.

Sooner or later, though, you’ll end up at the Hatch Chile Express which is run and owned by the Lytle family. The Lytles are chile royalty here in Hatch. The current king is Jimmy Lytle who is in his late 60s. His maternal grandfather, Joseph Franzoy, who was from Austria, came to Hatch Valley in the 1920s and began growing peppers to sell to miners in Silver City, New Mexico.

Franzoy had 10 children, all farmers. His daughter, June—Jimmy Lytle’s mother—is, at 88, the last alive. But that’s not really what makes them royalty. That would be Jimmy Lytle’s father, Jim Sr., who developed the most famous chile in the Hatch Valley, the Big Jim. Not that the Lytles have been resting on their laurels ever since. Jimmy and his son, Faron, created the Lumbria and, more recently, the Legacy chile peppers. All sold at the Hatch Chile Express. You have to believe ol’ Joseph Franzoy would be proud.

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