Chuy’s Hatch Chili Salsa – Jimi’s Version

Ingredients

• 8T Sweet salted butter
• 5T all-purpose flour
• 2C yellow onion, chopped
• 4t minced garlic
• 4C New Mexican green chilis (AKA Hatch Chilis): roasted, peeled, seeded, chopped
  • Either break out the MAP torch or roast in the oven or directly on a gas burner until the skins blacken. Then rub most of the “char” off with your fingers under cold water; yes, after they’re cool enough to handle.
• 4C beef bone broth (or low-sodium beef stock)
• 2t salt (More to taste, celery seeds also work very well with out adding sodium)
• 1-2 pinches of sugar

Directions

1. In a heavy saucepan (about 4qt), sauté onions in butter until caramelized.
2. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes (stir, don’t let them burn).
3. Stir flour in with onions and garlic so that it no longer smells raw (blonde roux)
4. Add chopped chilies, beef broth, salt and mix well.
5. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes to allow mixture to reduce.
6. The sauce should be thick enough to bind chilies and onions together, or coat the back of a spoon (like gravy).
7. Taste and correct with salt
8. Use an immersion blender if you prefer a smooth texture

Since the peppers are heavily roasted, it is the perfect opportunity to find less-than-perfect Hatch chilies that would be on sale, or chilis that have been sitting in your kitchen for too long. You don’t need/want perfect produce for this recipe.

Love, Jimi

Notes

• Sauce can be refrigerated for three days, or frozen.
• Hatch chilies come in two strengths: mild and hot. Mild feels like a sassy smack on the ass, hot starts to feel like abuse. Choose and mix wisely.
• Unfortunately, there is no substitute for hatch chilis, they have a very specific flavor/heat profile. Due to their increased popularity, you can find them canned; which is acceptable, but char some kind of mild chili to replace the smokiness.
• There is also a version that uses chicken stock with cornstarch as a thickening agent. I would use a roux instead, and only lightly brown the onions—the rest would remain the same.
• “Coat the back of a spoon” – you should be able to dip a cook’s spoon in, pull it out and run your finger across the back of it, leaving a “line” that lasts for a few seconds.

Backstory

I had this sauce at a Chuy’s restaurant during their hatch-chili seasonal menu (mid August through mid-September). The original recipe calls for corn oil, lightly browned white onion, and no sugar. While the original sauce was quite good, I wanted to put even more body and depth into it. So instead of the oil, I started with a whole stick of butter, and rather than lightly browning the onions, I just let them go to the point of French onion soup. The result is a sauce that starts off sweet and smokey, and finishes with an addictive level of heat.