Chile Rellenos | Fresh Chile Cookin' with Randy

Ingredients

For the chiles

• Fresh red Hatch chile pods
• Ice water for cooling after roasting

For the filling

• Asadero cheese, cut into long strips
• You can also use muenster or cheddar

For coating and frying

• All purpose flour for dusting the chiles
• 6 eggs, separated
• About 2/3 stick of butter for the pan

Instructions

1. Roast the red chile

1. Preheat your grill as hot as you can get it. A wood fired grill gives the best flavor, but a gas grill works great at home.
2. Wash the red Hatch chile pods and place them on the hot grill.
3. Roast for about 4 to 6 minutes per side, turning until the skins are blistered and blackened in spots.
4. When the chiles are roasted, transfer them to a bowl of ice water to cool and to help loosen the skins.

2. Peel and clean the chiles

1. Once the chiles are cool, peel off the skin. It should slide off easily after roasting.
2. Gently open the top of each chile with your fingers.
3. Remove most of the seeds. You do not need to remove every seed, just the bulk of them.
4. Set the peeled and cleaned chiles aside on a tray or plate.

3. Cut and stuff the cheese

1. Cut cheese into long strips about the length of each chile and about 1 inch thick.
2. Carefully stuff one strip of cheese into each chile so there is a generous amount of filling inside.
3. Place some flour in a shallow dish. Lightly roll each stuffed chile in flour to coat. This helps the egg batter stick later.

4. Make the egg batter

1. Separate the 6 eggs, placing whites in one bowl and yolks in another.
2. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
3. Gently fold the yolks back into the whipped whites until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter should stay light and fluffy.
4. This simple egg batter is all you need. There is no flour in the batter itself.

5. Fry the red chile rellenos

1. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium heat.
2. Add about 2/3 of a stick of butter and let it melt and foam.
3. Working one at a time, dip each floured, stuffed chile into the egg batter. Use your hands to coat it completely.
4. Lay the battered chile gently into the hot butter in the pan.
5. Repeat with more chiles, leaving space between them in the pan.
6. Cook for about 4 minutes on the first side, until the egg is set and golden brown.
7. Turn carefully and cook the other side for another few minutes until the batter is cooked through and evenly browned.
8. If there is a lot of egg on one side, you may need to turn each relleno one more time to finish cooking the batter.
9. The cheese inside should be melted and just starting to ooze out from the ends.

6. Serve

These red chile rellenos are delicious straight from the pan. The roasted red Hatch chile still has a little texture, the cheese is melted inside, and the egg batter is light and golden.

If you want to take them up a notch, spoon some Hatch Red Chile Queso or Hatch Chile con Queso over the top before serving. That extra layer of Hatch flavor makes this dish even more special.

Notes

• Most traditional rellenos you see in restaurants are made with green chile. Red chile rellenos are rare and are a real fall season treat.
• Some cooks only use the egg whites for batter. In this recipe, Randy uses both whites and yolks for extra richness and color.
• You can deep fry these rellenos if you prefer, but pan frying in butter gives a lighter result and is easy to do at home.

From Hatch, New Mexico, where the area code is 575 and we grow some of the best chile in the world, we hope you enjoy this red chile relleno recipe with your family.

Eat more chile. Make sure it comes from Hatch.