Jalapeños rellenos! Oversized stuffed jalapeños in a golden brown egg batter! This recipe for jalapeños rellenos is inspired from my last trip to Monterrey, Mexico in 2019. My family visited a taco spot and sent me a photo of the delicious relleno tacos they were enjoying! No fair! Lol! I knew I had to try and recreate my own version when I arrived back home. Took me a few years, but finally did it!
Rellenos! Rellenos! We Love Rellenos!
A traditional chile relleno, for me, is prepared with a roasted poblano(or pasilla) pepper. In New Mexico and Arizona, it’s popular to utilize Hatch, New Mexico or Anaheim peppers. They are typically filled with cheese. Mom only prepared the poblano version and they were filled with beef picadillo with diced potato. For this recipe, I combined the beef and potato with some cheese. Next time, I will use only cheese for a quicker version. What other fillings have you tried? Shrimp, crab, tuna, shredded beef, chicken and probably some that I may have forgotten.
If Preparing Rellenos Intimidates You….
Not sure if you want to jump in with both feet yet? The jalapeños is a great starting point! Start off small with just 4-6 to practice. For every large egg prepared into batter, you could probably coat 3 jalapeños. It really depends on the size of the peppers. The best trick I ever learned years back was freezing the peppers for an hour after they are stuffed! Game changer!
Broil or Dry Roasting?
To be honest, I rarely broil my peppers, unless I am preparing a big pot of chile verde that will be blended or sliced into strips. Since I don’t have a gas stove top to fire roast them, I choose the comal or griddle like mom used to. In my experience with broiling peppers for rellenos, sometimes I feel like they over cook and become too soft. You really have to watch and time them. That is my experience with my broiler. It may be different for you all.
Blistered Pepper Skins! I know, I know!
The blistered skins from larger peppers, like poblanos(pasillas) or Anaheim can be tough to chew. They become almost like plastic, in my opinion. I always peel the skins from those varieties. The jalapeño skins are very thin and don’t bother me. Removing the skins is an option though.
Peeling the blistered skins is optional. I love the smoky flavor because it reminds me of chiles toreados. It’s up to you.
The Freezing Part! Yes!
Wish I had learned that technique 35 years ago when I had to prepare rellenos on my own! That used to be the hardest part of the whole recipe. I tried using toothpicks a few times and that was a disaster!
Eggs! Very Important Tips!
Eggs must be at room temperature to achieve stiff peaks when whipped. Make sure the bowl is clean and with no moisture whatsoever when whipping the egg whites. This recipe requires multi tasking and moving quickly once the batter is ready!
Salsa Macha https://pinaenlacocina.com/salsa-macha/
Spicy Jalapeño Salsa Verde https://pinaenlacocina.com/spicy-jalapeno-salsa-verde/
Homemade Mexican Crema- equal parts sour cream and heavy cream with a pinch of salt. Whisk together, cover and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Whisk again and store refrigerated for a few days.
Jalapenos Rellenos
Ingredients
- 12 extra large fresh jalapeños washed and then dried
- 2 cups beef picadillo with potato, previously prepared chilled
- 1/2 cup queso fresco, finely crumbled
- 1 cup monterey jack, shredded
- 1/2 cup , plus 1 tbsp ap flour
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2-3 cups oil, avocado, canola for frying
- Your favorite salsa
- Warm tortillas
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry chile peppers. Place on large griddle or skillet and heat to medium. After a few minutes the peppers with begin to crackle and dry roast. Some of the skins will blacken and blister. Turn as needed for the next 20-15 minutes. Transfer to a plastic bag. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.
- Once peppers have cooled, you can choose to remove the blistered skins. I didn't remove the skins. Carefully slice a T shape right below the base of each pepper. Carefully open and remove as much of the seeds as possible. Set aside.
- If using previously cooked beef picadillo, make sure it's cold. In a bowl mix 2 cups of picadillo with 1 cup shredded melting cheese(jack, chihuahua or oaxaca) and 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco. Or if your prefer to only use cheese, you can do that as well.
- Gently stuff the peppers with just enough filling so they can still close. Set stuffed peppers on a wax paper lined plate. Freeze for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Have a large plate ready with 1/2 c of flour for dusting peppers later.
- When the hour is almost up, prepare the egg batter. Separate the eggs yolks from the whites, placing the egg whites in a large bowl. In a deep skillet, preheat the two cups of oil at medium heat(365 degrees F). The oil needs to be ready for frying around the same time batter is ready. Timing is everything! Remove the stuffed peppers from the freezer. Let them sit for one minute, then roll them in reserved flour on plate. Shake off excess flour.
- With an electric mixer or in the bowl of the stand mixer, beat the eggs whites on high until stiff peaks form. You should be able to flip the bowl upside down without egg whites coming out or even moving. If ready, add the egg yolks, 1 tbsp flour and a pinch of salt. Mix on low, just until incorporated.
- Peppers may begin to condensate, so if you need to, lightly dust with flour any areas on pepper that may need it. Holding the stem, dip pepper in the egg batter making sure it's evenly coated. Transfer to preheated oil and drop in gently.
- Let peppers fry for one minute before you gently ladle(with spoon) some hot oil over the top of uncooked pepper. If you go too fast, you will push the batter off. This helps seal the batter a little before you have to flip the relleno. Once golden brown on bottom side, flip over and continue frying until golden brown. Transfer cooked rellenos to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Repeat until done with all peppers. Work as quick as you can. The longer the egg batter sits, it will begin to break down.
- Serve rellenos as an appetizer with your favorite salsas or as a taco filling!
Notes
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Thank you for this recipe. I love the freezing tip. I too had issues in the past with proper sealing.
I’m going to make them this weekend!
Hi Lino! Let me know how it goes!