Chile rellenos

I spent a few hours on Sunday making my first attempt at chile rellenos and a skirt steak. I've never eaten fajitas and don't eat steak often, so it was a tasty experience.

The chile rellenos were not all that fun to make, lol. It wasn't helped in that I had a short period of time and was making four items without any advance prep. I also hadn't a clue on authentic, so I looked at about 15 recipes on the Web and chose what I thought seemed likely to be authentic based on comments made.

What a pain! So, if I am ever to consider making these again, I need some assurance that there is a better way....

Here are the problem areas.

1. Roasting peppers. Because I was also make beans, marinading steak, making the sauce for the rellenos, and making Mexican rice, I opted for the oven method: 450, wait until blistering, put in plastic bag, shut and come back in 15-20 minutes.

But the peppers were overcooked so they split, and they skins weren't quite as blistered so I was peeling bits of skin for what felt like hours. Roasting over a flame seems too time consuming. Is there a better way?

2. Removing seeds. It this required? If so, how do you keep the slit small and get in there to take them out? I've never eaten these in a restaurant, so I had nothing to go by.

3. The egg batter. It seemed that beating the whites to peaks, then adding the yolks was the preferred method. Then dredge the peppers in flour or corn meal, then in the egg, then fry. Multiple problems. I couldn't dredge by holding the pepper's stem because they were overcooked, so I had to sort of spoon it over the peppers (again, resolved by not overcooking them). The egg batter didn't want to stick.

Is this the best method? I use gluten=free flours, but can't imagine that influenced the egg batter not wanting to stick. Is this traditional?

I suppose I should also ask if anyone uses a different batter. Beer batter? Something else?

4. The cheese. First: The cheese didn't really melt. I used a relatively hot oil in a wok - maybe 1/2 inch. I flipped twice (cooking on three sides) and they were nicely browned. But when we ate them, the cheese was warmed and slightly melted, but not really. Is this how they are supposed to be? Second: How much cheese? I didn't know, but those peppers could sure hold a LOT. I put in a light to moderate amount - maybe a 1 to 2 ounce slice based on the pepper. What's considered "normal"?

5. I saw several recipe for cheating and baking them. I wasn't at all tempted before, but now? Most certainly! Has anyone successfully done this? Was it any good?

ViewsAskew:

1. I always roast over the flame on my gas range, 3-4 at a time using tongs to turn so that the skin blisters evenly. Some areas blister quickly and others, like creases, take longer. I do not use water when rinsing off the skin off to retain as much flavor as possible.

2. I always remove the seeds. One important thing in keeping the slit small it to choose the largest chiles you can find and also the most regularly shaped. Having said that, my hands are large and I always end up with large slits. But I put the chiles in the freezer after stuffing but before frying so that slit is frozen shut so that cheese doesn't ooze while frying. This is a technique Bayless recommends in "One Plate at a Time". I don't find the need to use a toothpick to keep the slit in place.

3. Before freezing, I dredge each stuffed chile in flour. After freezing, it is easy to dip in the batter and drop into the oil. The flour helps the batter stick. No idea if non-gluten flour will work.

4, After frying, the chiles go into the oven so that the cheese has a chance to melt.

5, Baking will give you something like a casserole, which isn't bad, but nothing like the real deal.

I know you didn't have much prep time, but this dish is so much easier if you start a day or more ahead, freeze the stuffed chiles, and then hold them in the oven after frying until ready to serve. Sometimes I freeze a whole bunch so that I can have this dish with little additional effort whenever I want.

Bill/SFNM

I've only made them a couple times, based largely on the recipie from a Rick Bayless' One Plate at a Time, but they were delicious and I didn't run into the problems you list. It was quite an involved process.

1) To remove the skins, I cooked the peppers in the hot oil first - about a minute at 350 degrees was all it took. Put them to the side to drain and the skins pulled right off. Peppers remained firm so that I could stuff them full of filling and use a wooden skewer to close up the slit. I've used the gas flame method before for other purposes, but since you need to heat up the oil anyway, it seemed like a good approach and worked very well.

2) I am not a fan of cheeese filled Rellenos, so I used a pork stuffing with almonds and raisins that added more substance to the dish. So I can't comment on the cheese issues, but with the pork stuffing there was no need to freeze them before or bake them after.

3) Since the chiles were still quite firm, it was easy to make a small slit, loosen the seeds, and rinse them out.

4) I also dredged the chiles first in flour, then held by stems and quickly dipped in the egg mixture, then dropped right in the oil.

Sounds like the peppers were too overcooked and mushy to handle them and work with them the way you need to. You can pick up a hand held propane torch from Home Depot for like $20. That works pretty good. You don't cook the stem/neck of the pepper so you have a lot of strength there to manipulate them. A gas stove would work OK. You don't need to take off every little bit of skin. You definitely have to get rid of the seeds. The batter I used was whipped egg whites, then yolks and wheat flour.

They are still a pain and a lot of work. You need to make a filling and a sauce and other stuff. I think you really need to eat them immediately or they get mushy and greasy.

One time I had a terrific chile relleno in Mexico that was a rehydrated dried chile that was not battered and fried at all. Just stuffed with a vinegary picadillo and baked I believe. Anyone know of what kind of chile that may have been? It was red and meaty, smaller than a poblano.

teatpuller wrote:One time I had a terrific chile relleno in Mexico that was a rehydrated dried chile that was not battered and fried at all. Just stuffed with a vinegary picadillo and baked I believe. Anyone know of what kind of chile that may have been? It was red and meaty, smaller than a poblano.

I have made this type of dish using ancho chiles, though I usually fill them with queso cotija.

Good chiles rellenos are indeed a hassle if you try to make everything to order from scratch. This is why Bayless has never actually put them on the menu, and instead has six orders available nightly for people who get there early and are in the know.

However, all of the ingredients except the batter hold up really well, for a long time, when made in advance - and all serve multiple great purposes when treated as part of your pantry. I sometimes roast and peel a dozen or more poblanos at a time, and keep them refrigerated for 2+ weeks. They're great diced and added to soups, omelettes, and a host of other dishes. I also make a Diane Kennedy inspired sauce that's easy, keeps for weeks, and works with many dishes including chiles rellenos. Just rehydrate some anchos, and add to a blender with a few cloves, some toasted sesame seeds, rehydrated raisins, and enough of the rehyrating liquid to get the consistency you want. The sauce works great with the rellenos, roasted chicken, eggs, fish, steak - you name it.

It does help to fry instead of roast, however roasting over the flame is not at all time-consuming. Frying, if done correctly will give you a more evenly blistered skin for peeling, and a less torn-up chile for stuffing. You will not have the roasted flavor of course, but I would forget about that issue for rellenos. They are time-consuming as a whole, and a bad choice when prep time is low and you are making other dishes. Retaining the stem is key for dredging, and overcooking is a cardinal sin for good looking rellenos. Freezing after flouring and baking after frying are both good keys to success as noted. It also doesn't hurt to flatten the chile a bit after stuffing by pressing down on it. You really don't need to seed the chiles if you don't mind extra heat-and this will help in the looks department. Poblanos are notorious for ranging in heat, however, so you may have one that is almost like a bell pepper, and one that is a killer.
The ancho (actually a dried poblano) rellenos mentioned are most often found in Central Mexico, and are often filled with some form of picadillo or requeson (similar to ricotta). A vinegar-based escabeche marinade or sauce is often involved.

I've had a pretty good result blistering peppers under the broiler in the oven on the top rack close to the burner/element. But that's not a 'leave it alone' suggestion -- you've got to keep a close eye on them and turn them frequently.

I haven't made rellenos more than once, and it is a lot of work. Might I suggest chiles en nogada? You're back to a meat filling (or meat-like substance - TVP would probably work OK), with a lot of fruit and veg. The cream and nut sauce is probably no worse for you than a fried egg batter. They're usually served room temp, so that's another worry off your chest. Still, peel and stuff in advance, and just sauce at serving time.

stewed coot wrote: The ancho (actually a dried poblano) rellenos mentioned are most often found in Central Mexico, and are often filled with some form of picadillo or requeson (similar to ricotta). A vinegar-based escabeche marinade or sauce is often involved.

That is exactly what it was! I was in Zacatecas. Obviously it was something to remember about seven years later.

For a simpler, but spectacular alternative, you may want consider this nod to the French influence in alta comida mexicana:

Chile relleno in puff pastry

Bill/SFNM

I believe I saw an episode of Tyler Florence Food 911, where he helped someone prepare this dish. I would look that recipe up on Food Network.

Lots of great replies. I thought this group might know their way around chile rellenos in the kitchen!

I knew I could roast on the stove, but didn't know I could fry them. I chose the oven because it allowed me to prep other dishes. I think the main takeaway for me is that I need to allow lots more time, regardless of the methods used. I knew I was pushing it, but I'd promised the meal, got home late, etc. I'm notorious for thinking things won't be nearly as hard as they end up being...

To that end, I like the idea of doing it in bits - as was said, everything holds well except the eggs, so it doesn't all have to be done at the same time and that came make it feel like less work. Freezing is such a wonderful idea. I also like the idea of the torch...my SO will LOVE doing that part, lol.

Indeed, the overdone chiles were 1/2 the problem - because of that they split, didn't stuff easily, and I couldn't hold them by the stem to dredge them.

Just one more question:

1) When ya'll make them, do you add the flour TO the eggs ever? Or always dredge flour first, egg second?

ViewsAskew wrote:1) When ya'll make them, do you add the flour TO the eggs ever? Or always dredge flour first, egg second?

I did both - dredged in flour to help the batter stick to the chiles, and added about 1 tsp of flour per egg to the batter to add a little more substance to the coating. Worked like a charm.