Chipotle - Chili

Chipotle Chili

What's Chipotle without chipotles? The short answer, not Chipotle. Our namesake ingredient, the chipotle chili pepper is a dried and smoked jalapeño produced using the age-old craft of smoking them over pecan wood for several days. These intensely smoky, spicy peppers are the foundation for much of the food we serve—from our chicken, steak, and Barbacoa to our beans and vinaigrette. Without them, we couldn't call ourselves Chipotle. Well, we could—but that would just be inaccurate. And tasteless.

FACT

One man, thousands of chilis, and a pickup truck

You may not be familiar with Javier Fierro, but you know (and have tasted) his work. Based in the Chihuahua city of Camargo, Javier has been growing, selecting, smoking, and exporting jalapeños for more than 25 years. Fifteen of those years have been with us. Javier's team's first delivery for Chipotle involved transporting 2,000 pounds of chili peppers on the back of a pickup truck. Though his operation has grown since those days (as has ours), his commitment to supplying quality chilis remains.