Easy Chile Relleno Recipe

You'll love this easy and versatile Chile Relleno Recipe! Poblano peppers are stuffed with leftover smoked brisket (or use Smoked Pulled Pork, ground beef, or cheese). The stuffed poblanos are then coated in flour and a fluffy egg batter and fried until golden brown. The Chile Rellenos are served over Salsa Rojas, a made-from-scratch spicy red sauce.

Why This Recipe Works

Making Chile Relleno isn't as hard or complicated as some might think! As a matter of fact, I learned how to prepare Chile Relleno many years ago when I was a novice cook. You see, Chile Relleno is one of Scott's favorite Mexican dishes. So, if a young, inexperienced 25-year-old Hilda can make Chile Relleno, so can you!

The poblano peppers can be charred in various ways, including over a gas range, in a pan, or broiled in the oven. As long as they're charred until black, they're pretty easy to peel.

Once peeled, you can stuff the peppers with your favorite filling (smoked brisket, seasoned ground beef, cheese, shredded beef, or pulled pork). Finally, they're lightly floured and dipped into an easy-to-make fluffy egg batter.

Once fried, the Chile Relleno are served over a simple and delicious spicy red sauce known as Salsa Rojas. This Chile Relleno recipe also goes great with a side of Mexican Rice, beans, and don't forget the Mexican pickled carrots!

What Goes Into This Recipe

Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions

• Poblano Peppers — When choosing poblanos, choose large ones because they are easier to stuff. Also, keep in mind that sometimes Poblano Peppers are mislabeled and actually sold as Pasilla Peppers. Some Poblanos can be quite spicy, removing the seeds can help lessen the heat.
• Brisket — Be sure to shred the smoked brisket finely before stuffing the peppers. If you don't have smoked brisket on hand, you can use pulled pork instead.
• Cheese — You can use various cheeses to stuff the poblanos, including Monterey jack cheese, Asadero cheese, or Oaxaca.
• Chipotle Peppers — Chipotle peppers give the Salsa Rojas (spicy red sauce) a little kick. For a milder sauce, you can leave them out.

How to Make This Recipe

Spicy Tomato Sauce (Salsa Roja)

Heat olive oil, then sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes. Pulse diced tomatoes and chipotle peppers, if using, in a blender. Add to the pan, along with the remaining ingredients. Simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes.

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Chile Relleno

Step 1: Char the poblano peppers over an open flame or in a hot cast-iron skillet. Add charred peppers to a gallon-sized ziplock bag and seal until the peppers are cool enough to handle. Peel charred skin either by scraping it with a small knife, rubbing it off with a napkin, or just peeling it gently. Not all of the skin will come off, which is totally fine.

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Step 2: Cut a 3" slit in the middle of each pepper. You can leave the seeds intact if you don't mind the extra heat (some poblanos are quite spicy). If you would like to remove them, scrape them out with a small spoon. Using your fingers can expand the slit.

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Step 3: Mix shredded brisket, cheese, and garlic into a bowl then carefully stuff each poblano pepper. Set two tablespoons of flour aside to use in the egg batter. Roll peppers, one at a time, into the flour until coated. Gently shake off excess flour and set aside.

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Egg Coating

Step 1: Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Add egg whites and salt to a mixing bowl. Whip until soft peaks form. Adjust the speed to low. Add egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of flour, mix until incorporated.

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Heat oil to 350 degrees F.

Step 2: Hold stuffed peppers by the stem and gently dip them into the batter to coat. Carefully place battered peppers into the hot oil and fry until golden brown before flipping to the other side. It should take 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd the pan. Drain fried Chile Rellenos on paper towels and continue until they're all fried.

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Step 3: Spoon Salsa Rojas into plates and top with Chile Relleno. Serve immediately.

Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips

• Instead of smoked brisket, you can use pulled pork or seasoned ground beef. Sometimes raisins are added to the ground beef filling giving the Chile Rellenos a sweet and spicy flavor.
• To make vegetarian Chile Rellenos, stuff the peppers with your favorite cheese.
• If you can't find poblano chiles, Hatch green chiles may be used.
• If the skin does not come off easily it usually means the peppers are not charred enough or they need more time to sweat.
• Do not rinse the chiles to remove the charred skin. You want to retain the pepper's flavor and the sticky texture to help the flour and the batter stick to them better.
• Many recipes suggest securing the opening in the stuffed poblanos with toothpicks. I've never found this to be necessary because the egg batter seals the filling inside the peppers.
• Make sure the oil is between 350 to 375 degrees F. If the oil is not hot enough, the chiles will soak up too much oil. If it's too hot, the egg batter will burn.
• One way to serve the chile Rellenos is to top them with chopped cilantro, crumbled queso fresco (or your favorite Mexican cheese), and sour cream.

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