sahmjoys

There are many facets to being a stay at home mom.  Caring for my child.  Taking care of my home, and husband.  Taking care of myself.  Entertaining myself, trying to stay sane.  And of course…cooking!

I made the best dinner last night!  I made “real” chili rellenos for the first time.  I’ve made relleno casseroles before, where you stuff canned chili’s with cheese and put them in a dish and pour an egg/cream mixture over them and bake them.  It’s good but not the same.

My mom had given me a large bag of Anaheim chilies, which is what I used for them.  You can also use poblano chilies if you’d like.

First you have to roast the chilies.  You can do this by putting them under your broiler, which is what I did.  I took about 10 minutes for 12 chilies.  Be sure to open a window and turn your fans on.  You can also roast them over an open flame on your stove top or bbq grill.  You don’t need to blacken the entire chili but try to get at least 70% or so black.  Turn them every minute so they don’t burn.  Once they’re done, seal them in a large plastic ziplock bag and let them sweat for about 15 minutes.  Be careful when handling them right away because they are still hot but start to peel them while they’re still warm.   The skins should be puckered away from the chili and fairly easy to remove.  You can peel them under running water but it washes away a lot of the oils, thus washing away lots of flavor.  I was able to peel mine without water.

Next, you’re going to seed the chilies.  Take a sharp knife and run it horizontally under the stem but do not detach the stem, just about an inch opening, then slice down vertically, opening the chili.  Cut out the seeds and the membrane that attaches the seeds to the top of the chili, and scrape out the seeds in the body of the chili.  This is the most time consuming part, since you have to be careful not to tear the flesh.  *If you do happen to tear them, which will happen, don’t worry, you can still use them.*  Also, if you don’t care about having the stem, which is mainly for presentation, it’s a lot easier to just cut the stem of the chili off, remove the seeds that way.  Just slice across the top, under the stem, just below it so you remove all of it then slice down to open the chili.  MUCH EASIER!!

Now that the chilies are clean, place a slice of Monterrey jack cheese in them.   Use brick cheese and cut the slice so that it fits the chili, and allows the skins to meet up again.

Prepare your pan with oil; use a heavy dutch oven, large skillet or deep fryer.  Pour about 3 inches of oil, and heat it over medium flame.

Now, prepare the batter.  Use one egg for every 2 chilies.  (12 chilies=6 eggs)  You will use the egg whites first, so separate the eggs.  The easiest way I separate my eggs is by cracking all of the whole eggs into a large bowl, taking care not to break the yolks.  Once all of the eggs are in the bowl.  Reach in with your clean hand and just pull the yolk out and set it in a separate container.  It’s very fast and easy this way.  Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer) whip the egg whites until they are thick and stiff, this take a little while, but the stiffer the better.  Break the yolks, stir them around and add some salt…about a shake of salt per egg, then fold the yolks into your egg whites.  Do not stir, just gently fold them in until they are incorporated.

Place some flour onto a plate and lay your chili in the flour, patting each side till well covered.

Test your oil before frying the chili.  Drop a bit of batter into the oil.  If it sizzles and floats, it’s ready.

Place your chili in the batter.  Be careful not to break it.  This part is kind of messy but fun.  Once your chili is coated in your fluffy batter drop it carefully in the oil.   They only take a couple minutes to fry to a nice golden brown.  Turn the chili once till both sides are golden brown, then remove the chili and place on a bed of paper towels to drain.  I used a spatula for this and it worked well.

That’s it!  Just continue until all of the chilies are done.  Be sure to “drain” both sides of your chili on a fresh set of paper towels.

If you are going to make rice as a side dish, I highly recommend making the rice prior to starting the chilies, so that it’s done when the chilies are done, because you are going to want to eat them right away!

If you want a sauce to accompany your chilies, you can simmer a can of tomato sauce, seasoned well with salt, pepper, garlic and add cheese.  Keep simmering and stirring till it slightly thickens.  If you want a spicy sauce, use a can of El Pato tomato sauce.  It is very hot, so you can use one can of that and one can of regular tomato sauce to make it spicy not ridiculously hot!   You can also use canned enchilada sauce or taco sauce…whatever floats your boat.

TIP:

If you tear the chili, do not worry.  The batter will hold the chili together and it will look like it’s completely whole.

You don’t have to use toothpicks.  Just meet up all the sides of the chili around the cheese till they’re touching.  The flour and egg batter will hold it together.

Use lots of clean paper towels to drain them, don’t let them sit on the oily paper towels.

Eat them while they’re hot!

This is a fairly economical dish as well, the most you will spend is on the brick of cheese, but you won’t use all of it, so you’ll still have a lot left over for another meal.

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy!!

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