Green chile Hornitos, Don Julio Reposado

So I tried my two-chile-infused-Hornitos margarita last night, and it was perfect. Quite spicy, but not downright painful. I may even try infusing a more expensive silver tequila now that I've proven that I like it on the less-expensive Hornitos.

As a side note, I think Hornitos is probably the best tequila value. If you're using British currency, you could say that it's the best "pound-for-pound" tequila out there!

On another tequila note, I sometimes try new tequilas when my local Twin Liquors has a good special, and I really liked one I got last week. It's the Don Julio reposado. I have previously had their silver and their anejo. The anejo is an excellent snifter / sipping tequila, and the silver is pretty good (but not my favorite for margaritas -- I prefer Patron, Herradura, and Gran Centenario). But the reposado seems to be a perfect blend of the silver and the anejo -- excellent both for ritas and for sipping. Good juice!

A beautiful thing

Here's my recent green-chile-infusing experiment in progress, doubling the amount of chile from first time I tried it (it was a little mild with one, so I added two). Will taste tonight ...

McCain / Palin Support New Mexico Green Chile!

At our local Chuy's restaurants in Austin, they're having a green chile festival celebrating the Hatch, NM, green chiles. My wife and I have been eating there several times the last couple of weeks, and we bought lots of chile to freeze and have for the next few months. I have a new bottle of Hornitos in my pantry now steeping with not one, but two green chiles for margaritas. See previous blog entry ( http://20thhole.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-mexico-hatch-green-chili-season.html ) for recipe.

As part of Chuy's green chile promotion, they have t-shirts that promote supporting the "Green Chile Party '08", complete with a humorous "platform" consisting of a list of bullet points basically telling you to eat lots of chile.

I was thinking of their humorous linking of chile and politics when I saw the below photo of McCain / Palin buying salsa from El Pinto, a pretty well-known restaurant in Albuquerque, NM. Just more confirmation I'm supporting the right candidates! 8^)

Caption from AP reads, "Sunday: John McCain picks up his change after purchasing jars of salsa at El Pinto restaurant in Albequerque, N.M., for himself and his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. (AP Photo)"

New Mexico Hatch green chili season margarita

When I was in grad school at UT Austin, I did an internship in the fall of 1995 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at Sandia Labs. I really fell in love with the high desert -- the stark landscape, the mountains, the high-altitude air. But more importantly, the food ... chiles, to be specific. New Mexican cuisine differs from Tex Mex or other regional Mexican food, mainly in the use of green and red chiles. They impart a unique flavor to dishes like enchiladas, carne adovada (pork stewed in red chile), etc. A common question in New Mexico that waiters ask restaurant patrons is, "red or green?" referring to which type of chiles they want on their food. The best green chile comes from Hatch, NM.

This flavor used to be very hard to find outside of New Mexico, and I was a little out of luck trying to find that flavor in Austin up until a few years ago. Now, the great flavor of these chiles has caught on and you can find them in a few places. The best time to get them in Austin is right after they're harvested in New Mexico, when a few groceries and restaurants have a "Hatch Green Chile Festival". Our local "Central Market" roasts green chiles for a couple of weeks, and a local Tex Mex restaurant, Chuy's, also features lots of Hatch green chile items.

Last year, my wife's uncle Stephen told me he had tried infusing tequila with a jalapeno he smoked (making his own chipotle). That had come out really well, so I thought I'd try it with green chile. So a few days ago I got some roasted chilis from Central Market and tried it out myself on a bottle of Hornitos. Man, it is really good!

Hatch Green Chili Margarita

1 roasted Hatch green chile, peeled and de-seeded
1 bottle Sauza Hornitos tequila (or other 100% agave tequila that you like for margaritas)
Put one peeled and de-seeded roasted Hatch green chile in the bottle of tequila and let sit overnight ... maybe give it a couple of periodic shakes to agitate the chile.

In a shaker with lots of fresh ice, combine:
2 oz infused tequila
1 oz Cointreau
Juice of 1/2 to 1 fresh lime
1-2 tsp simple syrup (more or less as desired to taste)

Shake and strain into chilled martini glass (if desired straight) or over margarita glass with frsh ice in it (on the rocks).

Simple syrup is 1 part sugar to 1 part water in a saucepan, heat to boiling, stir to dissolve, cool then store in container in refrigerator.