(This is part 1 of a recipe. When you’re finished, be sure to make the jalapeno sauce recipe that goes with these peppers.)
I love chiles rellenos. One of my favorite dishes to this day, which isn’t great for my lactose intolerance, but so worth the pain.
While I was playing mad scientist in my kitchen I had the the brilliant idea of combining one of my favorite foods with one of my favorite peppers. As much as I love and favor the habanero pepper, there’s no way I would do this with habaneros.
This stuffed jalapeno pepper recipe (Jalapeño pepper rellenos) is almost like jalapeño pepper poppers (say that real fast ten times), but with my Mexicanness melded in.
You will need some jalapeño peppers, a few eggs, some grated cheese (I like Monterrey), flour, olive oil and wooden toothpicks.
Step One: Char the Jalapenos
You can use a broiler and periodically turn the jalapenos until they are completely black. The method I used was on a gas stove with the flame. I’m a glassblower and I like the fire.
Put a jalapeno on a skewer and let it sit right on top of the flame. You will also need to turn it periodically.
I used two burners so I could char two peppers at a time. Be careful this is an open flame after all.
Make sure the jalapenos are completely black and as soon as you char them put them in an air tight container. This will steam the peppers making them soft and easier to handle.
Let them steam for at least 10 minutes.
In the meantime you can go to step two.
Step Two: Prepare the Batter
The amount of eggs needed is in direct proportion to the amount of peppers you charred. The more jalapenos you have the more batter you will need.
As a heads up, in my experiment I charred 6 jalapenos and went with 6 eggs, which was way too much. It would have worked with 3 or 4 eggs.
Separate the whites and yolks into different containers. Beat the whites until they are frothy and you get the peaks.
Add some flour and continue beating until it is completely mixed in. For 6 eggs I used 1/4 cup so less if you used less eggs.
Add the yolks and again, beat until everything is mixed. You can put the batter into a container with lid and refrigerate until needed.
Step Three: Peel the Jalapenos
The jalapeno peppers should have been steaming for at least ten minutes.
Open the container carefully and peel the charred skin off the jalapenos. The steaming process should make this a lot easier.
Step Four: Add the Relleno
Relleno is stuffing and traditionally, chiles rellenos are stuffed with cheese.
After peeling the peppers, make a small cut down the length of the pepper, just enough to open it and get the seeds and veins out.
Don’t throw them out, you will be using them in part two when making the jalapeno sauce recipe that goes on top of the jalapeño pepper rellenos.
After removing the seeds and veins, stuff them with a bit of grated cheese. I used some freshly grated Monterrey, squeezed the cheese into small ovals, and placed the cheese oval into the pepper.
I then used the wooden toothpicks to close the pepper up.
Step Five: Everything Comes Together
Pour some flour onto a small plate and roll the stuffed peppers in the flour making sure they are covered completely.
Pour some oil into a small saucepan filling it up about 2 to 3 inches deep.
Heat the oil on the stove until it’s ready for frying. You’ll know it’s ready when you drop a pinch of flour in the oil and it sizzles.
Dip the jalapeño peppers in the egg batter that was prepared in step two and make sure they are completely covered.
Then place them in the hot oil until brown. Use some tongs to get them out and place them on a plate with paper towels to soak the oil.
In part two I’ll show you how to make the tomato jalapeno sauce that is poured on top of the jalapeno rellenos.
Here are the finished jalapeno pepper rellenos:
(Tip: You can use hot peppers in your margaritas too! Here’s a spicy one that goes great with this recipe.)
Never Run Out of Peppers Again
Don’t you hate when you go to the store and they don’t have Jalapeno peppers? If you grow your own, you’ll never have that issue again! Let’s get started…
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