Chili Rellenos

5 Poblano Chili Peppers stacked on a butcher block counter top.

The Best Chili Rellenos

One of my favorite recipes to prepare, serve and eat has got to be stuffed peppers. They come in all shapes and sizes, prepared differently all around the world including Asian, Indian and European cultures. The Germans have great stuffed Bell Pepper recipes and so do the Cajun’s, here in the United States.

I’ve seen and tried recipes stuffed with meats varying from ground pork, veal, beef, lamb, chicken and even shrimp. Also rice, legumes, potatoes and quite often the addition of cheese. One of the most famous stuffed pepper recipes in the world, however, is the Chili Relleno made with Poblano Chili Peppers and, if you don’t know already, it comes from Pueblo Mexico.

2 Roasted Poblano Chili Peppers, sitting on a paper towel with black blistered skins, ready to be peeled.

Why this Recipe intimidates People

Making Chili Rellenos can be quite tedious, especially if you’re making them for the first time it can be difficult and seem intimidating. That’s why I waited so long to share this recipe with you. I spent a lot of time over the years trying to come up with a fool proof method that will make anyone feel comfortable making this dish and it all starts with roasting the Chili’s until the skin blisters up, evenly around the whole body of the pepper.

One roasted and peeled Poblano Chili Pepper, with a table knife, on a white flower printed plate.

Once the Chili Peppers have been roasted they’re placed in a bag or bowl where they can be covered and steamed with their own heat. This helps the flesh of the pepper lift and blister, for easy removal, as the pepper continues to cook and soften a bit more.

After 10 minutes or so, the skin is removed. this can be done by peeling with your fingers, rubbing or pulling with a paper towel but I find that it works best using the small serrated edges of a table knife by gently scraping the scorched skin off. Realize these peppers are getting soft so, if you don’t want to rip and tear your Chili Rellenos before they’re even made, be careful.

Grated Monterey Jack, Colby Jack and Queso Fresca Cheese.

The next step to making perfect Chili Rellenos is creating a small incision down the side of each roasted and skinned Poblano Pepper. You can, at this point, choose to remove the seeds, if you so desire, but it really isn’t necessary. Besides, it’s just another opportunity to rip and tear a perfectly good pepper so, why risk it. Now, just stuff the Pepper with grated Monterey Jack cheese, seal the incision back together, temporarily, with tooth picks and roll each one in flower.

2 stuffed, roasted, skinned Poblano Peppers, sealed with tooth picks and rolled in all purpose flour.

Rolling the Poblanos in flour is a very crucial step. In fact it’s one of the reasons why the skin is removed; it helps the flour stick and adhere to the pepper better which in turn, like most frying, grasps the egg wash batter for deep frying.

What’s the other reason the skin is removed, you say? I believe that it gives the peppers an unpleasing texture like trying to eat the outside layers of a cooked unpeeled onion. I’ve tried it this way before, out of pure laziness, and it left one to be desired so, roast, peel and flour your stuffed Chili Relleno Peppers.

One smothered Chili Rellenos Pepper, with Colby Jack Cheese, Chili Sauce and Pico De Gallo.

My Chili Rellenos

As far as I’m concerned, you can do what ever you want with this dish as far as the filling goes. It doesn’t have to be stuffed with just cheese. You can fill these Poblanos with meat or any of the other ingredients I mentioned above. I’ve seen sautéed onions and mushrooms and even tomatoes on the inside of these peppers with cheese.

According to the history of the original recipe, that dates back to the 1850’s, Nun’s were absolutely stuffing their Chili’s with meat so, go crazy if you want to. In it’s simplest form, however, I cook my Chili Rellenos stuffed with Monterey Jack, then bake under a broiler in a Red Chili Sauce with Colby Jack, then I top it off with cold Pico De Gallo and crumbled Queso Fresca.

YouTube video tutorial on How to make Chili Rellenos by PoorMansGourmet.

Chili Rellenos Ingredients: Makes 8 to 12

Chili Relleno’s Ingredients:

8 to 12 Poblano Chili’s, roasted
1 lbs Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 lbs Colby Jack Cheese, grated
1/2 lbs Queso Fresca Cheese, crumbled
2 cups Pico De Gallo
2 cups Red Chili Sauce

6 to 8 eggs
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt

Oil for frying

Just follow the instructions in the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make these wonderful Chili Rellenos.

Armadillo Eggs

The Best Armadillo Eggs

This Armadillo Eggs recipe is a cross between 3 recipes I previously posted; my Jalapeno Poppers, Scotch Eggs and my Cheese Bombers. In fact, these are a lot like Potato bombs too. But, basically, you end up with a jalapeno popper that’s wrapped in sausage, bacon and baked to perfection. This recipe is fun and it can be baked or grilled and served as an appetizer, side dish or even as the main course.

Whole Jalapeno Peppers for Armadillo Eggs.

How to make the Armadillo Eggs

Normally, Armadillo Eggs are made whole, meaning one whole pepper is usually stuffed then wrapped with sausage and bacon. I like to cut them in half, instead, then wrap the peppers and I show you how to do both in the video tutorial. I also like to season the cream cheese filling with a few ingredients that make these poppers taste better. Fill each pepper half with cream cheese, then all you have to do is flatten out a few ounces of raw ground sausage and wrap the entire pepper. Then wrap with 2 pieces of bacon for each one and bake over a cookie or baking sheet with a wire rack.

If you don’t want the skin on your hands to burn all night, I recommend that you wear gloves.

Oven Baked or Grilled Armadillo Eggs

Over all, these Armadillo Eggs take about a half hour to cook, in the oven. On an open grill, you’re probably looking at upwards of 30 to 45 minutes of grilling. It really just depends on your heat and/or if the lid is open or closed. Usually, a good rule of thumb is to just cook and turn until the bacon is crispy on all sides.

Armadillo Eggs – Jalapeno Poppers/Scotch Eggs – poormansgourmet

Armadillo Eggs Ingredients:

3 to 6 Jalapeno Peppers
1 lb Sausage
1 lb Bacon
1 pkg Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and bake the Armadillo Eggs at 400° Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes on each side.

Roasted Stuffed Peppers

The Best Stuffed Peppers

I’ve been wanting to film these Roasted Stuffed Peppers for quite some time now, because they are so easy and very delicious. One of the things that makes them easy is that you’re able to cheat and pull some ingredients from a box. This is a Cajun Rice and Black Beans mix I borrowed from Zattarain’s but you can use anything you want. My Dirty Rice, Spanish Rice or my Jambalaya recipe would be perfect in this as well. In this recipe, I decided to throw in some Italian Sausage to spruce it up a bit. If I were stuffing this with Jambalaya, for example, I’d be adding Shrimp and Andouille Sausage. So just realize that there are several different ways you can stuff peppers. I have a Tex-Mex style Stuffed Pablano recipe and Jalapeno Poppers that are out of this world!

Bell Stuffed Peppers

For this Stuffed Peppers recipe, I just to use Bell Peppers and I chose a rainbow assortment, just to show how pretty this dish can be. Buying all of these different colors, however, can ten to be a bit pricey. Sometimes the Red and Yellow Bell Peppers are 3 to 4 times the price of a regular green Bell Pepper. So don’t think for one moment that this dish has to be an expensive one. Save the money, and buy the Green peppers. The flavor will be the exact same and everyone will love it.

Roasted Stuffed Peppers Ingredients:

4 Bell Peppers, cut in Half
1/2 lbs Italian Sausage
1 box Cajun Rice and Black Beans, cooked
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
1 Celery Stick, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 tbs Fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 tbs Cooking Wine
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Broil Peppers for 5 to 8 Minutes and Bake Stuffed Peppers at 425 degrees f for 10 minutes. Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make these Roasted Stuffed Peppers.