{"id":387681,"date":"2026-07-27T13:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/387681\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T13:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:44:08","slug":"hatch-chile-fest-is-back-in-lubbock-and-heres-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/387681\/","title":{"rendered":"Hatch Chile Fest Is Back In Lubbock And Here’s What To Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before back-to-school season and before Texas Tech football, there\u2019s another sign that summer is beginning to wind down in Lubbock<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that sharp, smoky smell floating through the air that tells you Hatch Chile Fest has arrived.<\/p>\n

I honestly don\u2019t know how far the Hatch chile celebration stretches. Does it make it into Oklahoma or even farther? Is it celebrated everywhere in Texas, or is it mostly a West Texas and New Mexico tradition?<\/p>\n

All I know is that when those chile roasters start rolling out in Lubbock, it feels familiar and comforting. It\u2019s one of those seasonal traditions that lets you know exactly what time of year it is without looking at a calendar.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll soon see those big roasting cages spinning outside United Supermarkets, Market Street and Amigos. This year, I\u2019m encouraging you to go all-natural with your green chiles.<\/p>\n

Let me explain.<\/p>\n

I use green chiles like a madman. I make green chile burgers, and I love dumping a can into Alfredo sauce to give it a little more depth, flavor and zip.<\/p>\n

This year, I also experimented with green chile and cheese enchiladas. That experiment is exactly why I\u2019m preaching the gospel of freshly roasted Hatch chiles today.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Be Afraid of Fresh Green Chiles<\/p>\n

For years, I always bought the big cans or giant jars of green chiles.<\/p>\n

As much as I enjoyed the smell and tradition of fresh chiles roasting outside the grocery store, I didn\u2019t really know what to do with them once I got them home.<\/p>\n

Then a friend bought more roasted chiles than he could use and gifted me a freezer bag full of them.<\/p>\n

Out of a sense of obligation\u2014and because I didn\u2019t want to be wasteful\u2014I thawed them, peeled them and diced them up for a batch of green chile and cheese enchiladas.<\/p>\n

It was life-changing.<\/p>\n

Okay, maybe it was only menu-changing, but you get the point.<\/p>\n

The flavor was richer, smokier and much more substantial than what I was used to getting from a can. The freshly roasted chiles didn\u2019t just add heat. They added an entirely different layer of flavor to the meal.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019m here to tell you not to fear the chile. Embrace it.<\/p>\n

Buy them fresh. Have them roasted. Take them home, peel them, dice them and freeze whatever you don\u2019t immediately use. Then start experimenting.<\/p>\n

Add them to burgers, eggs, queso, casseroles, enchiladas, pasta sauce or just about anything else that could use a little West Texas attitude.<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0Texas Sales Tax Holiday 2026 Dates, Rules, And What Qualifies<\/a>\u00a0|<\/p>\n

Hatch chile roastings are happening now through August 26 at United Supermarkets, Market Street and Amigos.<\/p>\n

Follow that smoky smell and give the fresh stuff a chance.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll thank me later.<\/p>\n

Cool And Sweet: Lubbock’s Favorite Spots For Shaved Ice <\/p>\n

Looking for an ice-cold sweet treat? Here are 4 Lubbock originals with plenty of locations to satisfy your craving for snow cones and shaved ice. <\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Renee Raven<\/p>\n

Lubbock’s Must Try Frozen Margaritas For Summer 2026 <\/p>\n

Need to cool off with a truly refreshing frozen margarita? Here are some must-try frozen and blended cocktails to get your summer sizzling! <\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Renee Raven<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before back-to-school season and before Texas Tech football, there\u2019s another sign that summer is beginning to wind down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169,223],"class_list":["post-387681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}