Chile Relleno



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This is by far the most involved recipe I’ve posted so far. What makes it so, is that the recipe is built out of many separate elements, or recipes themselves. That is the reason I posted all of the supporting recipes before posting this one. (See notes about refried black beans.)

Chile relleno wrapped with flank steak and served with chili sauce, crema, and tomatillo sauce.Poblano Chile Relleno Wrapped With Flank Steak

In terms of level of difficulty, it’s really not that hard. It just requires a great deal of time management and a lot of processes going on at the same time. That is, of course, if you are making it in one day.

Regarding cook time and prep time it usually takes me five to six hours to pull this together. However, when I made this for the site, I did it over a three day period. Whenever I do recipes for the site they take me on average three to four times longer to make, because of the added time to stop and setup the photography and then move back into the recipe.

This recipe is not a traditional chile relleno. Traditional chile rellenos are stuffed and dipped in an egg batter, then deep fried in lard. I developed this recipe years back after I had made dinner for some friends. The next day I was looking at the leftovers. There was Spanish rice, refried black beans, shrimp ceviche, tomatillo sauce, New Mexican red chili sauce, ancho chilies, poblano chilies and crema. I also happened to have some flank steak on hand. While this is certainly not a traditional chile relleno it is a very good recipe for stuffed poblano peppers.

Ancho Chili Powder

Ancho chilies on a cutting board.

Ancho chili peppers have a wonderful fruity-earthy kind of flavor with a bitter tone.

The ancho chili opened up exposing the seeds.

Tear the ancho chilies open and remove the stem. The reddish brown veins are actually the dried pith.

The ancho chili with the seeds removed.

Remove any seeds and tear the chili into small pieces, so that they will fit into a spice grinder. Arrange on a sheet pan in a single layer. Toast for 20 minutes at 225º F.

Making ancho chili powder.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Process, in batches, in a spice mill until you have a fine powder. Pass the powder through a fine mesh strainer. 

Keep in a sealed container in your spice cabinet, like any other spice.

The Flank Steak

Flank steak on a cutting board.

If you look at the flank steak you can see the grain of the meat.

Flank steak cut into strips.

Lay out the flank steak and slice it, with the grain, into strips about 1 inch wide. You are going to need 4 strips of flank steak.

Pounding the flank steak strips between sheets of film.

Lay out a length of plastic film, place a strip of steak on the film, and cover with another piece of film.Using the flat side of the meat mallet pound the meat by starting at one end and working toward the other.

One of the strips pounded out, contrasted with one of the original strips.

Your strip should resemble the one in this picture. Once you have the meat pounded out, you can run over it with the tenderizer side of the meat mallet. Be careful not to go too hard or the meat will tear and shred.

The Chile Relleno

Poblano chilies on a cutting board showing the opening for stuffing the chili.

Make a slice through the flesh, starting about an inch below the stem and terminating about an inch and a half before the end.

Stuffing the chili with the Spanish rice.

Fill the bottom half of the chili with Spanish rice.

Stuffing the top half of the chili with shrimp ceviche.

Fill the remaining area with the shrimp ceviche.

Wrapping the flank steak around the chili.

Wrap the flank steak around the chili starting at the top and spiraling around the chili until you reach the end. Some overlap is fine, if needed.

The chile relleno wrapped with the flank steak.

Secure the steak with picks. Sprinkle with ancho chili powder, and season with salt and pepper.

Chile rellenos in a casserole with New Mexican chili sauce.

Lightly coat the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 casserole or cake pan with the New Mexican chili sauce. Transfer the chile rellenos to the pan and spoon a little of the chili sauce over the top of each pepper. Cover tightly with foil. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour.

Smoked chile rellenos on a perforated grill pan.

When the chile rellenos are done transfer them to a perforated barbecue tray. Place in the smoker or on the barbecue. Add a few pecan or cherry wood chunks and allow to smoke heavily for about 45 minutes.

Remove the chilies from the barbecue, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, while you prepare the plates.

Chile relleno wrapped with flank steak and served with chili sauce, crema, and tomatillo sauce, on a rectangular plate.

On a rectangular plate, spread out enough crema to cover the middle third of the plate. Add about a tablespoon or two of refried black beans to the center of the crema, this is where the chili is going to sit. Spread out the tomatillo sauce on one end of the plate, and the chili sauce on the other end. When you are done you should have plate that represents the Mexican Flag, red, white, and green.

Place the chile relleno on top of the black beans, crumble some queso fresco over the plates, and serve immediately.

Chile relleno wrapped with flank steak and served with chili sauce, crema, and tomatillo sauce, on a round plate.

On a round plate spread out enough crema to cover a third of the plate. Spread out the tomatillo sauce on another third and finish with the chili sauce. Add about a tablespoon or two of refried black beans to the center of the plate. When you are done you should have plate that represents the Mexican Flag, red, white, and green.

Place the chile relleno on top of the black beans, crumble some quest fresco over the plates, and serve immediately.

Poblano Chile Relleno With Spanish Rice Shrimp Ceviche And Flank Steak

  • Yield: 4 chile rellenos
  • Prep Time: 4 to 5 hours
  • Cook Time: 1-1/2 hours

Equipment

  • Meat mallet
  • Barbecue or smoker
  • Small wooden sandwich skewers
  • Perforated barbecue tray

Ingredients

For The Chilies

  • 1 pound flank steak
  • 4 poblano chilies
  • 1 cup Spanish rice - see recipe
  • 3/4 pound shrimp ceviche - see recipe
  • Ancho chilies, or ancho chili powder
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Cracked pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup New Mexican chili sauce

To Plate

Ancho Chili Powder

You can find ancho chili powder in most Mexican markets and some larger grocery stores. However if you can't find it, you can usually find ancho chilies and make your own chili powder. By the way, this works the same way for any kind of chili powder.

  1. Tear the ancho chilies open and remove the stem
  2. Remove any seeds and tear the chili into small pieces, so that they will fit into a spice grinder.
  3. Arrange on a sheet pan in a single layer. Toast for 20 minutes at 225º F.
  4. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
  5. Process, in batches, in a spice mill until you have a fine powder. Pass the powder through a fine mesh strainer. 
  6. Keep in a sealed container in your spice cabinet, like any other spice.

Method

Pounding The Meat

  1. Start by pounding out the flank steak to about 1/8 inch thickness. To do this lay out the flank steak and slice it, with the grain, into strips about 3/4 inch wide. You are going to need 4 strips of flank steak.
  2. Lay out a length of plastic film, place a strip of steak on the film, and cover with another piece of film.
  3. Using the flat side of the meat mallet pound the meat by starting at one end and working toward the other.

Stuff The Chilies

  1. Preheat your oven to 325º F.
  2. Lay out the chilies so they are resting on their stable side. Make a slice through the flesh, starting about an inch below the stem and terminating about an inch and a half before the end.
  3. The cut should taper from one end to the other so that you have a hole about 2 inches long and a half inch wide, at the center.
  4. Fill the bottom half of the chili with Spanish rice and fill the remaining area with the shrimp ceviche.
  5. Wrap the flank steak around the chili starting at the top and spiraling around the chili until you reach the end. Some overlap is fine, if needed.
  6. Secure the steak with picks. Sprinkle with ancho chili powder, and season with salt and pepper.
  7. Lightly coat the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 casserole or cake pan. Transfer the chilies to the pan and spoon a little of the chili sauce over the top of each pepper. Cover tightly with foil. 
  8. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour.

Smoking The Rellenos

  1. While the rellenos are baking build a small fire in your barbecue. You want to maintain a target temperature between 200 and 225 degrees F.
  2. When the chilies are done transfer them to a perforated barbecue tray. Place in the smoker or on the barbecue. Add a few pecan or cherry wood chunks and allow to smoke heavily for about 45 minutes.
  3. Remove the chilies from the barbecue, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, while you prepare the plates.

To Plate

  1. Ideally you should plate these on a rectangular plate, however a round plate works, also.
  2. On a rectangular plate spread out enough crema to cover the middle third of the plate. Add about a tablespoon or two of refried black beans to the center of the crema, this is where the chili is going to sit. Spread out the tomatillo sauce on one end of the plate, and the chili sauce on the other end. When you are done you should have a plate that represents the Mexican Flag, red, white, and green.
  3. Place the chili on top of the black beans, crumble some quest fresco over the plates, and serve immediately.

Notes

  1. About pounding meat - use the smooth side not the corrugated side. The corrugated side of the mallet is for tenderizing not pounding, the flat or smooth side of the mallet is for pounding meat. I’m not really sure why some believe otherwise.
  2. About the black beans I have to apologize to you. As I pointed out above, recipes take me about four times as long to prepare when I am photographing them. Well, when I started this my wife asked if I wanted to photograph the beans. I said no, because, the recipe is already on the site. Incidentally I thought this the last three times I made them, clearly I was mistaken. So I will include the recipe at the bottom of this page but there isn’t a single photo to go with it. Next time I make them I will post a proper recipe.
  3. About spelling chili vs chile vs chilies. As I understand it the word “Chile” refers to the country. The word chili refers to the peppers, and the word chilies is the plural form of chili. Having said that there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of universal consensus since all three words are used interchangeably, to refer to chilies. Interestingly, it seems chile relleno is always spelled "chile".

Refried Black Beans

Ingredients

  • 1 pound black beans
  • 2 tablespoon fat, lard or cooking oil as you prefer, divided
  • 1/4 small onion, diced
  • 1 serrano chili, seed and pith removed, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • Kosher salt to taste.

Method

  1. Sort and rinse the black beans. Add them to a 6-quart pot and add enough water to cover by 2-inches. Cover, and place over a burner and bring to a rapid boil. Boil for about 1-minute and turn off the heat. Allow to rest in the water covered, at least an hour and as long as 3 to 4 hours. The longer they soak the faster they cook.
  2. Drain the beans in a colander and rest in the sink. Rinse out the pot and place back on the burner. Heat the pan until the water evaporates.
  3. Add the fat to the pan and move the pan so the oil coats the bottom. Add the onion and chili to the pan. Cook until the onion begins to caramelize, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook another 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring.
  4. Add the beans to the pot along with the stock and add enough water to cover by an inch. Season with salt and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the beans are tender through. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. If the level of the water evaporates below the level of the beans add a little more water.
  5. Working in batches puree the beans in a food processor, transferring each batch to a bowl. When you are finished rinse out the pot and place back on the burner over high heat. Once the pan dries out let the pan get smoking hot. Add the remaining tablespoon of lard to the pan and swirl it to coat. You must work quickly here. Add the beans all at once and stir to cook. Once the sputtering subsides reduce the heat to low and cook another 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

Tags: chile relleno, chili relleno, stuffed poblano peppers, chili relleno casserole