Chiles rellenos; hatch chiles, golden and fried to a crisp, filled with melty cheese. Top that with pico de gallo (or salsa!), crema, and cilantro and I am in heaven! This Chiles Rellenos recipe has been in my family for decades, courtesy of my Aunt Robbie. Usually the recipe is used with chiles (Hatch peppers), but poblanos and Anaheim peppers would work fabulously as well!
We love all things spicy in our house, so when I had made my HEB order for the ingredients and I realized that I had ordered the hot hatch peppers instead of mild I got super excited! That spice just add an extra layer of oomf in my opinion, but I would get whichever pepper that suits the spice level your family prefers.
Let’s jump right in! For TLDR: Recipe below these pictures 🙂
You’re going to need to roast your chiles to get the outer skin off; if you leave it on it will leave a bitter flavor in your dish. Rub the chiles with oil and pop them in the oven at 425 F for about 15 mins (definitely flip halfway through for even blistering). They’re going to be a bit floppy at this point to be gentle moving them around for the next step. It should look something like this:
Right when they come out of the oven you’re going to throw your chiles into an ice bath. This is to both ensure that the cooking process stops and to make it easier to peel the skin off. Start at the bottom of the pepper and gently remove that shiny blistered outer layer like this:
After the chiles are ready, let them sit and make your outer chiles rellenos coating. You want your egg whites whipped to where with the beaters off, when you pull it straight out of the whipped egg whites, it leaves little mountain peaks as seen below. At this point get rid of your hand mixer, we fold the rest from here. Using a spatula, carefully fold in the flour until just evenly mixed. Do this slowly so your don’t lose any air from your egg whites. Then pour in the yolks from the egg and do the same, slowly fold it in.
At this point you’ll stuff your chiles with your cheese, roll them in the flour/salt mix (not shown here), carefully roll them in the egg/flour mixture, and fry on medium heat on both sides until golden brown. Once they are done, carefully remove them with tongs and drain them on a paper towel. Serve immediately with salsa, crema, and cilantro. You could add other things such as a ranchero sauce, guacamole, rice on the side etc.
Details
4
30
15
425 F
Print
Ingredients
4 Whole Hatch Chiles/Poblanos/Anaheims
1\2 lb Monterrey Jack or Longhorn Cheese
1/2 C Flour
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
3 Tbsp Flour (For Egg Mixture)
1/2 C Shortening
3 Eggs
Directions
- Pre-heat your oven to 425 F. Line a baking tray with foil. Prepare a large bowl with ice and water for an ice bath for when the chiles are done roasting.
- Shred your cheese and place into a bowl for later for stuffing the chiles.
- Mix the 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 tsp of salt. Set aside.
- Place chiles on the foil lined baking tray and rub with vegetable oil and a sprinkle of salt. Roast in pre-heated oven for about 15 mins flipping halfway until blistered on both sides.
- Immediately remove chiles from tray and place them in the ice bath. Let sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes peel off the outer blistered layer of the chiles and discard it. Lay your chiles on a plate to stuff with cheese.
- Start heating shortening on medium heat in a large skillet.
- Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff and slowly fold in the 3 Tbsp of flour. Beat the egg yolk lightly and then also slowly fold into the egg whites.
- Stuff the chiles with cheese, roll them in the flour and salt mixture.
- Dip the chiles, one at a time into the egg batter and quickly transfer them to a skillet with moderately hot shortening in it. With a large enough skillet, all 4 chiles can be cooked all at once.
- Brown on each side, drain on a paper towel, then serve immediately.
If you have leftovers, they should be placed in an airtight container and can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. They reheat well in the oven.