Roasted Hatch Chile Butter

You are going to want this Hatch Chile Butter Recipe at the ready. Its sweet and spicy flavor is fantastic to add to toast, pasta, chicken, fish, steak, corn, and then some!

Hatch Chile Butter is a compound butter that can add deliciousness to an abundance of savory foods.

It's incredibly easy to make and you'll use it all the time. From your morning bagel to seared scallops for dinner, it'll enhance it all.

What is a compound butter?

Compound butters are butters that have additional flavors or ingredients added to them. This could be anything from citrus zest and wine, to spices and fruits. (Here is a handful of more of my favorite compound butters.)

About the Key Ingredients

• unsalted butter - It's usually best to cook and bake with unsalted butter so you can control how much salt goes in the recipe.
• Hatch Chiles - Hot, medium or mild, depending on preference. Hatch chiles are almost always marked with their heat level where they're sold. Substitutions: I love using hot Hatch Chiles for this recipe when they're in season, but if you prefer less heat, mild would also be delicious. And you can substitute Hatch with Anaheim chiles or Poblano chiles.
• honey - The sweet honey is the perfect delicious balance to the heat from the peppers.
• lemon juice - Use Meyer lemons over regular lemons when given the option. They're a touch less tart and a touch sweeter. And with a thinner skin and fewer seeds, they are incredibly juicy. Substitutions: Both lime and orange juice are delicious substitutes for the lemon. If you use orange, use half the amount of honey.

How to Make Hatch Chile Butter

- If you haven't bought your Hatch chiles pre-roasted, here's an easy step-by-step guide for How to Roast and Peel Peppers.

- Add the softened butter, honey, lemon juice, prepared peppers, and salt to a food processor and blend until it's as smooth as possible. (There will still be tiny bits of the chiles.)

* MAKING THE BUTTER WITHOUT A FOOD PROCESSOR * If you don't have a food processor, chop the peppers as finely as you can and mix them with the other ingredients.

Recipe Tips

• When the chiles are roasted they will weigh less, about ¼ pound. Keep this in mind if you purchase them pre-roasted. (It's about 2 large peppers.)
• If you use mild peppers, use a bit less honey. The sweetness is perfect to balance the heat of a hot pepper, but if they're mild, it can be too sweet with the full amount.
• It's important the butter be completely softened to room temperature before you make this, so the other ingredients incorporate smoothly.
• As for roasting the chiles . . .  you can buy them already roasted to save time. During Hatch Chile season (late July through August), grocery stores throughout the country hold Hatch Chile Roastings. Here is the list of all of the store locations where they will roast them for you.

Uses for Hatch Chile Butter

• Use it to sear sea scallops, sauté shrimp, fish or chicken.
• Melt it over your steak or grilled corn on the cob (my favorite!).
• Stir it into your pasta.
• Spread it on bread.
• Finish a sauce with it.
• The possibilities are endless!

Storing the Butter

Store the butter in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. It will keep for a few weeks.

I've written a handful of Hatch chile pepper recipes over the years.

I hope you enjoy this Hatch Chile Butter Recipe spread over everything. 

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