Chile Rellenos are such a large part of Mexican culture, and as of late, a large part of the United States culture as well. It is rare that you walk into a Mexican restaurant in the United States and don’t find Chile Rellenos somewhere on the menu. The tradition goes as such: hand dipped, fried peppers stuffed with cheesy goodness. There are of course a million variations from different types of cheeses, meats, and herbs, but they all have one thing: they are quite literally a “stuffed pepper.” It’s up to you to decide what to stuff them with! In this recipe, we decided to take some local ingredients we acquired from the farmers market this past weekend and create our own delicious take on the Mexican favorite. We hope you find it as enjoyable to make as we did! The result isn’t so bad either!Like we have mentioned before, chile rellenos can be made in such a variety of ways. It is rare that we have found a relleno that we didn’t thoroughly enjoy. For this recipe, we decided to change things up a bit. We take fresh poblano peppers that we bought at the farmers market.
We suggest getting the largest ones you can find. We had itty bitty ones, and although they were absolutely delicious, they were a bit more difficult to handle. So in this case, the bigger the better. Moving along, we stuff those peppers, which we have already roasted in the oven, with a blend of cheddar and jack cheeses and already prepared chorizo sausage. The chorizo gives this dish the little kick it so desperately needs =). We then “toothpick” them back together. We coat in a bread crumb blend and bake. Top with our absolutely amazing cocoa mole sauce and a homemade avocado salsa, and you have yourself a real treat. But wait, we need one more thing to set this dish over the edge: beer! Just wait until you see what we’ve paired it with!
I (Justine) am on a crazy chocolate chili beer kick. I just can’t get enough of it. Because this was “Mexican night” and we were making rellenos with a chocolate chili sauce, we had to pair with New Belgium’s Cocoa Mole, from their Lips of Faith series. This beer is everything a chocolate, chili beer should be and beyond.
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It’s chocolatey aroma, with hints of spice and heat bring out the chocolatey and spicy aromas of this dish. Good luck finding it though! We live in beer heaven; i.e. central, northern Colorado, where most great brews are born. Unfortunately, we don’t think New Belgium was ready for this brew to take off like it did. Beers of the Lips of Faith Series are hard to come by as it is, but this one can literally make dreams come true! Put it this way, even the brewery in Fort Collins didn’t have it! We had to search the local beer stores for their selection! In the end, we basically had to wipe out the entire town of Fort Collins of their Cocoa Mole supply just so we could stock up for winter, because we couldn’t find it in the Boulder area! Imagine that! If you are lucky enough to get your hands on it, it’s a perfect pairing for this dish; if not, another chocolate, chili beer will do. They are becoming more and more popular as of late that we are sure you can get your hands on one!
Enjoy making this dish, and more importantly, enjoy eating it!…and drinking the beer too =)
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Ingredients
- 6 small poblano peppers, or 4 large
- 1/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese, sliced into 1 inch slices
- 1/4 lb jack cheese, sliced into 1 inch slices
- 1/2 lb chorizo sausage
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup regular bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup shredded jack and cheddar cheeses for sprinkling
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup <a href="http://www.cookingandbeer.com/2012/08/holy-mole-sauce/">Holy Mole Sauce</a>
- 1/2 cup of your best avocado salsa
Instructions
- First, set your broiler on high.
- On a baking sheet, lay out the poblano peppers. Let roast under the broiler for a couple of minutes on each side. It’s ok if they get black, you want this to happen!
- Remove from oven immediately, and place in a gallon-sized zip-loc to cool.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- As your peppers are cooling, heat a sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the chorizo sausage until cooked through. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- When the peppers are cool enough to handle, cut the tops off and remove the skins and seeds. Be gentle, they will fall apart easily.
- When you are finished dissembling your peppers, start stuffing! Add a slice of cheddar and jack cheese and a tablespoon or two of chorizo sausage to each pepper. Roll and close tightly with your handy dandy toothpicks. Set the peppers aside.
- In one bowl, whisk the egg. In another bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs and regular bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper.
- Carefully dip each pepper in the egg and then roll in the bread crumb mixture (I suggest using a pair of tongs). Then place on a baking sheet. Repeat this step for the rest of the peppers.
- Place the peppers in the oven and let back for 20 minutes or until the bread crumbs have started to brown. Top with the remaining shredded cheeses, and let bake for 5-10 more minutes or until all of the cheese has melted.
- Serve with Holy Mole Sauce and an avocado salsa of your choice, and lay on a bed of rice!
