One of my favorite comfort foods of all time is the humble stuffed pepper. They are fairly easy and straightforward to make. It’s basically an entire meal in one dish. And best of all they taste amazing. But probably my favorite aspect of stuffed peppers is the simple fact that you can customize them in so many ways.
You can fill them with savory ground beef, moist shredded chicken, or even keep it entirely vegetarian by using a mixture of grains and vegetables. Really, it’s entirely up to you and the possibilities are endless. But it doesn’t stop with the stuffing, as you can easily swap out the common bell pepper with practically any other type of pepper. And since hatch chili peppers are still in season today we will be making some delicious pork stuffed hatch chilies.
What are Hatch chilies?
Hatch chilies, a.k.a. “New Mexico Chiles” are long and slender green chilies that are grown in the Hatch Valley, New Mexico. And they are so popular in fact that in 1965 they were declared as the state’s official vegetable! They can range in spiciness from semi-mild 1,000 (SHU) to fairly hot 8,000 (SHU) on the Scoville scale, but are more known for their amazingly rich and earthy flavor.
However, this immense popularity, combined with a small growing area means that hatch chili season can pass by really quick.
So what do you do when you missed the opportunity to pick up some hatch chilies?
Well, you simply use “New Mexico Chilies” that weren’t grown in the Hatch valley, with the most common one being the anaheim chile. That’s right, despite the difference in name hatch chilies and anaheim chilies are essentially the same thing. The only difference is where they are grown. And while this might not seem like a big deal, it is, as the climate of the hatch valley produces spicier and more flavorful chilies. So when you can, use hatch chilies!
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Not a big fan of pork? Then feel free to substitute it out with either ground beef, chicken, or even turkey. Or if you want a vegetarian version then swap it out with either 2 cups of diced mushrooms, or 2 cups of cooked rice/quinoa.
- Today we will be using shredded Mexican blend cheese on top of our stuffed hatch chilies. That being said you can use any type of shredded cheese that you want.
- Before you can cook with hatch/anaheim chilies you need to roast and peel them. If you would like to know a little bit more about that process then you should check out our lesson on roasting and peeling chile peppers.
- If you like this recipe then check out our recipe for classic beef stuffed bell peppers.
Pork Stuffed Hatch Chilies Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
8 Hatch chili peppers
1 Lb of ground pork
1 Medium onion, diced
½ Cup of corn kernels
3 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 Teaspoon of chili powder
½ Teaspoon cumin
½ Teaspoon of dried oregano
½ Teaspoon of granulated sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil
1 Cup of shredded cheese
Freshly minced cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Roast and peel the chili peppers: Roast each hatch chili using either the broil, grill, or stovetop method. Then steam them in a bag for 5 minutes and peel off their skin. Once each chili is roasted and peeled use a knife and make a slit lengthwise into each chili. Then use either your hands or a spoon to remove the seeds from the inner cavity of the chili. Set these chilies aside to be stuffed later.
- Make the stuffing: Get out a large walled pan, or skillet, and place 2 tablespoons of oil in it. Place the pan/skillet over high heat and toss in the ground pork. Saute the pork for 4 to 5 minutes, making sure to break it up into small pieces.
After 4 to 5 minutes toss in the onion, corn, garlic, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and sugar. Stir everything together and continue to saute for an additional 5 minutes. After 5 minutes taste the stuffing and add salt & pepper until it is to your liking.
Remove the pan/skillet off of the heat and let it cool down for 5 to 10 minutes.
- While the stuffing is cooling down preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Stuff the peppers: Once the stuffing has cooled off, use either a spoon or your hands to stuff the cavity of each chili pepper. Then place each stuffed chili into either a baking sheet or casserole dish.
- Bake the stuffed chilis: Place the stuffed chilies into your heated oven and let them bake for 10 minutes. Then take them out and top each chili with shredded cheese.
Return them to your oven and continue to bake until the cheese is melted to your liking.
- Plate the stuffed hatch chilies, sprinkle some freshly minced cilantro over top, and enjoy!
Pork Stuffed Hatch Chilies Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 Hatch chili peppers
- 1 Lb of ground pork
- 1 Medium onion diced
- ½ Cup of corn kernels
- 3 Cloves of garlic minced
- 1 Teaspoon of smoked paprika
- 1 Teaspoon of chili powder
- ½ Teaspoon cumin
- ½ Teaspoon of dried oregano
- ½ Teaspoon of granulated sugar
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 Tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil
- 1 Cup of shredded cheese
- Freshly minced cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Roast and peel the chili peppers: Roast each hatch chili using either the broil, grill, or stovetop method. Then steam them in a bag for 5 minutes and peel off their skin. Once each chili is roasted and peeled use a knife and make a slit lengthwise into each chili. Then use either your hands or a spoon to remove the seeds from the inner cavity of the chili. Set these chilies aside to be stuffed later.
- Make the stuffing: Get out a large walled pan, or skillet, and place 2 tablespoons in it. Place the pan/skillet over high heat and toss in the ground pork. Saute the pork for 4 to 5 minutes, making sure to break it up into small pieces. After 4 to 5 minutes toss in the onion, corn, garlic, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and sugar. Stir everything together and continue to saute for an additional 5 minutes. After 5 minutes taste the stuffing and add salt & pepper until it is to your liking. Remove the pan/skillet off of the heat and let it cool down for 5 to 10 minutes.
- While the stuffing is cooling down preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Stuff the peppers: Once the stuffing has cooled off, use either a spoon or your hands to stuff the cavity of each chili pepper. Then place each stuffed chili into either a baking sheet or casserole dish.
- Bake the stuffed chilis: Place the stuffed chilies into your heated oven and let them bake for 10 minutes. Then take them out and top each chili with shredded cheese. Return them to your oven and continue to bake until the cheese is melted to your liking.
- Plate the stuffed hatch chilies, sprinkle some freshly minced cilantro over top, and enjoy!
