You’ve probably heard already that it’s officially Hatch Chile Peppers season & it’s a quick one, so head to your closest Bristol Farms – nab some peppers and make this easy Hatch Chile Pepper jam so you can savor their flavor for longer. If you HAVEN’T heard or haven’t tried these delicious peppers, I suggest you nab some too.

Hatch Chile Peppers – what are they?

Hatch Peppers are grown in Hatch, New Mexico and they range in spiciness from mild to EXTRA HOT. I ended up getting a few mild and hot peppers for my jam. I also picked up a couple burger patties with Hatch & Cheddar incorporated in from the butcher while I was in store, the jam’s ideal sidekickI These patties really step up the game – that infused cheese crisps up perfectly on the outside of the patties when cooked in a pan. The Hatch pepper pieces give just the right amount of kick!

Alright, onto the recipe! I’ve been on a bit of a jam-making kick since I headed up to Fresno a few weeks back and was gifted a whole crate of peaches from one of the farms. Obviously I made peach preserves, because there was no way I was going to eat all those peaches before they turned bad & I wanted to savor that delicious taste of Summer. I also have plans to make some out of figs and maybe passion fruit. Basically I’m determined not to waste any of the gorgeous Summer produce! Also, this pepper jam is SO easy to make!

Easy Hatch Chile Peppers Jam

Ingredients

makes a little more than 1 – 8oz jar – obviously you can double or quadruple or whatever the amount if you want more!

• 1lb Hatch Chiles Peppers (between 6 – 8 peppers)
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

Directions

Destem & halve peppers. Discard the seeds and ribs from the inside, then roughly dice. Throw diced peppers into a food processor until you achieve the size of pieces you would like for your jam (you can see size of mine above).

Transfer pepper puree into a medium size pot on medium high heat. Add 3/4 cup honey & 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Stir together until incorporated, then bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about an hour – stirring often, so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. After it’s cooked down a bit (about 15 – 20 mins into the hour) add in salt, I did about 1/4 tsp, but it’s definitely up to your taste. When ready, the consistency almost becomes candied – no liquid should be left.

Put into a glass mason jar and store in the fridge. You can also pressure seal your lids if you end up making more than you plan to eat in the close future. I did this for my peach preserves. Here is a post that helped me figure that out for the first time. A couple notes on those tips – I didn’t have a wire rack to put on the bottom of my pot, I used a towel. I also didn’t have a jar lifter, I used kitchen tongs.

You can put the jam on more than burgers. We tried it on steak & I definitely plan on making some toast with it soon!

Happy Jamming,

Corey