New Mexico Hot Chile Powder

Wayne, a fellow brother from BBQ-Brethren forum and fellow writer at GetYourGrillOn.net sent me a few chile powders to try. Wayne’s blog is Playing With Smoke & Fire. How do you sample chile powders? I was clueless. I wasn’t about to start dumping spices into a beef & bean chili, tamales, or enchiladas. Sounded like a good way to ruin a dish and waste my samples. You also don’t get a sense for what the flavor and heat characteristics. Wayne’s suggestion was to brown some ground beef and incorporate a bit of the chile powder with water. So, that’s what I did.

The first powder I tried was New Mexico Hot. The flavor was very familiar. Reminded me of flavors found in chili & seasoned taco meat. It was a warm and savory flavor. Comforting in a way. As the name implies, it has some heat, but not like a chipotle powder or cayanne. Both of those hot chiles will present their heat at the back of the mouth and throat. The New Mexico hot was more in the middle of the tongue.

As for uses, chili, tacos, and burritos are no brainers. New Mexico Hot would make a good seasoning for blackened chicken, chops, or seafood. Looking forward to the trying more of the half dozen chile powders that Wayne was kind enough to send me.