Chile Rellenos

This classic Chili Relleno recipe is Tex Mex comfort food. Battered and deep-fried roasted chiles are stuffed with cheesy goodness and nestled in a fresh tomato sauce.

While the recipe has many steps—the results are well worth it. The fresh tomato sauce is the perfect counterpoint to the crisp battered chile. And the cheesy mixture is full of smoky flavors. The sum of all the flavors makes a fiesta in your mouth.

Poblano Peppers or Anaheim Peppers

Poblano peppers have meaty flesh and are slightly floral in flavor with a fairly mild heat level. The thicker flesh has a pleasant crunch.

Anaheim peppers are thinner and lighter in color than poblanos. The flesh is mild and more delicate than the darker and deeply lobed poblano.

Recipes for Chile Rellenos are often based on stuffed poblano or Anaheim peppers. I prefer to use poblanos for the thicker flesh and pleasant crunch.

When choosing poblano peppers for Chile Rellenos, look for peppers that are straight and evenly lobed to make stuffing easy. A nice long stem will help when dipping in batter and transferring the stuffed peppers to the hot oil.

How to Roast and Peel Chile Peppers

Roasting chile peppers is worth the effort since it removes the thin outer skin. The texture of the skin detracts from the texture of the peppers in recipes. When roasting chiles, the point is to blister and blacken the skin so you can easily peel it off, and not to cook the flesh of the chile pepper!

On a Gas stove or Grill

If you have a gas stove, it is a simple process. Just position a metal rack over the burner grate and turn the flame on high. Using tongs add the poblano peppers so the flame begins to blacken the outer skin. Rotate the pepper to roast all the sides. It may take up to 10 minutes to get all the sides and nooks and crannies of a pepper blackened.  I typically will roast two peppers at a time. This step is the same as in my recipe for roasted tomatillo salsa.

When the pepper’s skin is blackened, transfer the peppers to a plastic bag and let the steam loosen the skin for about 5-7 minutes. Then, using your fingers or a paper towel, brush off the blackened bits and even peel off any thin green skin you can. 

In the Oven on Broil

If you have an electric stove, you can use the broiler in your oven to roast peppers by arranging a broiler pan rack on the highest rack directly below the element.  Turn the broiler on and preheat to broil. Arrange the peppers on the hot rack and broil for 3-5 minutes. Rotate the peppers and broil the other side. Then remove the peppers from the rack when blistered and blackened and transfer them to a plastic bag to steam as directed above.

Chile Relleno Tomato Salsa 

• This quick sauce is so fun and versatile. It is very mild, but with the best flavors of any salsa. It is the perfect foil for a classic Chile Rellenos recipe!
• It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish and can easily be made ahead (or even frozen.)
• Saute the onions to sweeten and deepen the flavor
• Add the minced jalapeño, (you can easily remove the seeds and membrane or even only use half a jalapeño in the sauce.
• Ground cumin adds a smoky note
• Dried bay leaves give a herbal flavor.
• Roma tomatoes have the right balance of flesh and water. You can core and cut them into big chunks before adding them to the onion mixture to simmer or process them in a blender until soupy. I often do this so I can taste and adjust the seasoning while the sauce has its short simmer. 
• Remove the bay leaves.
• Finish the sauce by blending until fairly smooth. 
• You can assemble and cook the sauce while the peppers are roasting if you are comfortable with multitasking in the kitchen. If you are unsure about the process, just make the sauce first; then roast the poblano peppers.

Classic Chile Rellenos Cheese Filling

• Since the filling will provide the cheesy goodness for the stuffed roasted poblano chiles, you will want to make sure it is well seasoned to hold its own with both the chile and the fried batter layer.
• After you have peeled the chiles. Make a shallow cut in one side of the pepper. Use your fingers to ease it open. Use a parring knife to cut the seed pod (which is attached inside the pepper to the stem end). Carefully remove the seeds and membranes while making sure you don’t tear the flesh of the poblano. (With all the steps when making classic Chile Rellenos, this is the most finicky part.)
• Soften the cream cheese so it is easy to stir until smooth. Add the green onions, green chiles, and grated pepper jack cheese, then season with ground cumin, salt, and pepper.
• Spoon the cheese mixture into each pepper and push to close. You may want to use toothpicks to keep the filling enclosed.
• Refrigerate the peppers for about 30 minutes so the chiles firm up.

Making the Batter, Dipping and Frying the Chile Rellenos

• This light fluffy batter is made with egg whites whipped to soft peaks. Gently fold in the beaten egg yolk and seasoned flour. Make sure the batter is in a shallow dish that will allow the poblano chiles to be submerged.
• Dust the chiles with flour, (this helps the batter adhere to the poblano chiles.)
• Heat a cast-iron frying pan with 1” of vegetable oil to 325 – 350°F. 
• Holding each pepper by the stem, gently submerge the poblano in the batter and twist to coat on all sides.
• Immediately (and gently and with great care) transfer the chile to the hot oil. Cook until golden brown.
• Using tongs, turn the battered chile pepper over and cook until nicely golden brown on the other side.
• Remove the chile to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat the process with the remaining peppers.

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