Hatch Chili Grilled Cheese with Bacon
Hatch green chili's make these grilled cheese sandwiches shine but of course the thick cut apple wood smoked bacon takes it to another level. Add some tangy sourdough bread and this is one sensational sandwich!
Hatch chili's are here and these glorious mild green chili's from New Mexico are making their way into supermarkets everywhere this time of year. This makes me very happy!
A few years ago my husband and I visited New Mexico and fell in love with these peppers. They had not typically been sold in markets in Oregon so I was considering ordering some online when I discovered them for the first time at our local Fred Meyer. Yay!
I bought so many I think I nearly wiped them out that first year. Last year they had more so I didn't feel so badly when I filled two big bags. This year they were actually advertising them and had several special bins out so of course I immediately filled two large bags. This year I'm planning to can a few jars of sauce. It's just so good! Here's my recipe for How to Make Hatch Green Chili Sauce.
The first few things I'm doing with my chilies, like these amazing grilled cheese sandwiches, require only simple roasting and peeling. If you've never done that before check out my Blog post How to Roast and Peel Peppers.
I make a lot of my own bread and this is one of our favorites. I'll have to post the recipe for it one of these days. It's a basic white sourdough sandwich bread that I make with just a touch of yeast so that I can make it it about 3 1/2 hours without an overnight ferment.
It's perfect for this crunchy, hearty grilled sandwich. It adds a tangy flavor that really enhances the Hatch chili, cheddar cheese and smoky bacon.
The Hatch chili's are mostly mild but flavorful after roasting and taking the seeds out so there's little fear of this sandwich being too spicy. Taste one and if you'd like to add some kick to it you could add a few drops of hot sauce for sure, or not...
Bacon Cooking Tips:
I recently bought a spectacular thick cut apple wood smoked bacon specifically for making sandwiches.
When I worked in restaurants we would bake large amounts of bacon in the oven on baking sheets at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes to get the most perfectly precooked bacon for burgers, salads and sandwiches.
I cooked up my package this way and after cooling it on paper towels, stored it in a large plastic freezer bag in the refrigerator. If you can keep from eating it the minute it's done, this is a great way to prep for future recipes where cooking bacon just puts the whole recipe over the top in terms of prep time and mess.
If you put a sheet of parchment paper under the bacon and wait for the grease to cool and harden (put it in the freezer or refrigerator to speed up this process) cleanup is amazingly easy. You may never cook bacon any other way again!
Link to Restaurant Style Sheet Pan Bacon for the full blog.
Click through the gallery below for some tips and drool worthy photos on the making of these tasty Hatch Chili Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Bacon.
When grilling any sandwich, be careful to butter the bread all the way to the edges and don't over brown them or you may make your sandwich a little too crunchy. We all like a crispy sandwich and but let's not get carried away and end up with a sandwich that cuts the roof of your mouth.
Hatch Chili Grilled Cheese with Bacon sandwiches are smoky, salty, tangy, and wonderful!
A simple side of cut watermelon was delicious with this rich gooey sandwich.
Cheers!
~Melisa
Hatch Chili Grilled Cheese
with Bacon
Makes 3 Sandwiches
Ingredients
6 slices hearty sourdough sandwich bread
12 Tablespoons cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter
6 slices medium cheddar cheese
2 large green Hatch chili peppers, roasted pealed and cut into evenly sized pieces
6 large slices thick cut apple wood smoked bacon cooked until crisp
Method
Butter the slices of bread to the very edges on one side.
Place 3 slices in an electric skillet butter side down then top each slice with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese, 1 slice of cheddar and the pieces of Hatch chili divided evenly.
Divide the bacon and top the sandwiches evenly.
Top the bacon with another slice of cheddar then spread the rest of the cream cheese of the top slices of bread evenly and place it butter side up on the sandwiches.
Grill the sandwiches until they are just turning golden brown.
Turn the sandwiches over then place the lid on the electric skillet slightly askew so the steam can escape.
Lower the heat if you need to and continue to grill the sandwiches until the cheese is melted and the bottom is grilled to a golden brown.
Remove the sandwiches from the skillet and cut in half to serve.