The only chilis, Hatch or otherwise I've ever frozen turn rather mushy since freezing tends to burst the cell walls of the peppers. Still usable and still taste great, just don't have that nice crunch you typically get with fresh peppers. In recipes where they're cooked or otherwise "processed" they work just as you'd expect. Roasted or otherwise, I see little difference after freezing.

JMO

You can freeze them without roasting, but you really can't roast them after thawing. If they aren't roasted you'll miss that smoky aspect.

Thanks!!!!

You can take the roasted chili and puree them and freeze the puree.

Or you can take the roasted chilis and cut then into strips and sink them in a jar of olive oil.

I have done chilis both ways before. The ones in that jar won't keep that long.

The chili puree will freeze and have the culinary value of adding a nice touch to anything stewed.

It takes a lot of chili to make a jar of puree.

But, no there is no way to freeze them while raw and have them resembel the fresh ones. They will turn to mush.

Putting them in oil will leave you nice bit slices of chili but it won't keep for a long time. I do this in the summer with red peppers and it is nice. I use it up within a reasonable time.

I order a 10 pound box of fresh Hatch every year. Most are about 10-12 inches. The big straight ones I freeze fresh to later stuff. 4-6 per pack...and just 2-3 packs. A pound or two I slice and freeze so I can just grab a handful. Some I use fresh as they last a month in the crisper. Then ferment a half gallon with garden hots for 'hot sauce'. Usually enough to dehydrate a tray for powder.

The main amount I smoke/roast with onions, garlic and tomatillos for a freezer salsa. The best use for them we have all winter. !/2 pint containers.

I order the BigJim variety that are medium-hot. They will show up mid-early September. Weather a bit cooler while we are dehydrating and smoking anyway.

If I prep the whole ones for later stuffing, making a slit and removing the seeds, I can take them out and stuff barely thawed and into the oven with sausage and cheese. They will cook like fresh and be soft. But no, like most frozen garden veg, cooking is best straight from the freezer. Exceptions are corn off the cob and shelled peas.

My fresh slices from the freezer can be added to a salsa or guacamole in December into the cuisinart with raw red onion etc. I also freeze whole cherry garden tomatoes. In gallon freezer zip-locks. The flavors are fresh but need to be blended either cuisinart or blender.

One of the local grocers will have a roaster outside the store and you can buy roasted hatch chilis.

Although they are good enough chilis, they are still shipped a long distance to get here.

I am fortunate to have a local farm that I buy from and I get a good variety of fresh chilis that were just picked and they are just as good, if not better than the hatch.

If you live where hatch chilis are grown, roasted, and celebrated it may amount to being a special and anticipated time of year. But, in the end, it is just a chili with a high "like" score. Good? yes, but there are also others that are good.

They seem to have developed a cult following.

I love Hatch Chile season!! Maybe because I was born in New Mexico (or maybe just because they are delicious).

They have been available here in SoCal for a couple of weeks. We have already roasted a couple of batches on the grill. The first set was used for chicken tortilla soup and for adding to guacamole. We roasted the second set yesterday, then peeled, diced and froze for later in the year. We always roast them on the grill.

Apparently our "hot" ones from yesterday were indeed hot. Both of our fingers were tingling and I found every papercut I had.

Thanks everyone for the good and additional info!! A friend and I are supposed to split a case of roasted ones in half or in thirds.

I've frozen smoked hatch chilis and they've been great even after a. year. HOT!

@dallasannie - I would love to hear your recommendations for other chile's. Hatch season is too short!

Yes to roasting and toasting before freezing from me too. I do it with other peppers whole- a fave is poblanos. After roasting and letting get cold in the fridge, I tuck each one into it's own wax paper square and then packed into quart bags in the freezer. Pull a chili or two as needed for a recipe.

Also consider dehydrating. Dehyrating from fresh and from roasted up yield two nicely different pepper products.

I like to slice them into rings and pack them in a jar, fill with AC vinegar and pop them in the fridge and use them on pizza/sandwiches ... like Peperoncinos

Forgot about the vinegar method. That's another good one. I usually fridge pickle the babyAjiAmarello's I grow.

Sooz, when you pick up your roasted batch, you might want to get a couple fresh if they sell the by the pound. Interesting flavor depending on the variety and heat level. BigJim is mild hot and slightly sweet.

I so agree to get them roasted. We can't get them roasted but not a chore for us as we roast other things early Fall.

What I like about theHatchStore is their offering of five varieties from mild to extra spicy.

The HatchStore, link, HERE They do sell roasted, flash frozen but gets $$.

A note if anyone is interested, 5pounds is 35$, but 10pounds is just 40$. They are shipped every Tuesday, picked and shipped right away. Very fresh.

"Although they are good enough chilis, they are still shipped a long distance to get here."

Peppers travel well. Peppers are climacteric. Once picked they continue to ripen for some time before they hit peak, then start to loose freshness. So no, I don't agree with that. And most of the Northern states cannot grow large peppers. Hatch NM has the perfect climate. I can get jalapeños, habanero, and poblano, etc year-round. Way too spicy and small for stuffing. Love poblanos.

I also find all in the onion family very different. Same with potatoes, summer and winter squash, tomatoes. Even avocados can be very different depending on the variety, where they were grown and the weather any given year.

I see nothing wrong with celebrating local harvests. Even shipped. We look forward to artichokes every year from California. Excellent this year.

We are celebrating fresh farm stand corn right now. Picked early am, still cool from overnight lower temps. Enjoyed within a few hours. Before the sugars start turning to starch. I'm sure some think a can of corn is just fine, 😜

That said, enjoy your peppers Sooz!

Sarah, my only recommendation for another chili is just another chili.

I buy all produce from a local farm and they raise a variety of chilis. There are thin skinned ones, and thicker more meaty ones as well as the regular red sweet chilis. Mostly it is the normal line of suspects of chilis. Some hot, some sweet. Some come earlier and some come to the market a little later.

They all have a use, all different. Many can be roasted well.

The only one that does not attract me are what are called "green peppers". I don't buy those until they get red and have a nice flavor

Hatch chilis are a good chili, but they are not the only chili in town.

Sometimes things get such a following around them and it becomes part of a local culture and then maybe a niche market elsewhere.

Sure, they are good chilies, but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,there are others.

Sure, they grow well in NM and they take a revered place in the cuisine of the area and that is all well and wonderful, for sure. Sure send some to your sister in Iowa! Order some online! Enjoy!

With all the wonderful produce that I have available in the summer where I live, I am not going to miss Hatch chilies. I am just slap happy to have all that I do have that is wonderfully fresh.

Usually the Wegmans near me will have a roaster out there a couple of days a year and sell them fresh roasted. Maybe not this year.

My only issue with that type of post above, ^^, it does not even address the OP's question. It boasts about what is available only to you. Does not even begin to address the question about what to do with fresh and what is possible. That was the original question. Not anything requested about your personal lovely local harvests.

For Northern climates, I like BabyAJi. Sweet and mild-spicy. They grow well in our climate. I'm guessing Canada as well. From Fred at ArtisanSeed.

This is a last year pic. Hatch and my Aji harvest. Late to come if the season permits. Mid-september.

SD, no worries, it's all good, and I got loads of new info and links!

Thanks everyone for the mini-lessons about Hatch and other chiles. :O)

hatch just came in this week - mild, hot and extra hot - $2 a pound, that's about 4 peppers/lb.

I picked mine up Monday. There are no roasting events locally ever, but Chucks Produce in Vancouver was roasting them to order Monday and Tuesday and we were in Vancouver for a window visit with my Mom (assisted living). $40 box roasted, $30 box raw. I bought roasted, half mediums and half hots. Most are cleaned, chopped and portioned out, in the freezer. But I do still have one colander full in the garage refrigerator waiting for me this morning, decided I wanted them chopped and completely prepped for recipes this year and not frozen whole. It was taking a little more time than I'd imagined with the amount I bought ;0)