The Fugue

The Chile Relleno (plural Chiles Rellenos, for you grammar nazi wannabes), is one of the best dishes for showing off those delicious chiles in your garden (or supermarket). Poblano chiles and Oaxaca cheese seem to be the traditional dish in Mexico, but I’m talking about New Mexican cuisine here and the only way to go is pure New Mexico chile.

Sadly, even here in Las Cruces, less than an hour away from Hatch, the chile capital of the world, most restaurants don’t even make edible chiles rellenos, let alone delectable. I’ve had half a dozen different renditions here in Las Cruces, from some of the most acclaimed local restaurants, and only one was slightly better than sawdust. They were bland, limp, cold, and tasteless.

The perfect chile relleno is a delight to the chileholic. A medium green chile with just enough heat to make your scalp begin to perspire and packed with a lot of New Mexican taste, delicious gooey melted Monterey Jack cheese, all encased in a crispy batter fried to golden brown and delicious perfection.

This isn’t rocket science, and you can make the perfect chile relleno in your
very own kitchen (if you can find perfect chiles where you live, that is). The
most difficult part is managing the chile while roasting, peeling, gutting and
stuffing. I won’t tell you how to do this, because Google has this one covered
pretty well.

Chiles Rellenos

Fresh green chile
Monterey Jack cheese for stuffing
Batter:
  ½ cup flour
  ½ tsp salt
  ½ tsp garlic powder
  1 egg
  ½ cup ice water

Prepare the chiles by roasting and peeling, then through a small T-shaped
incision near the stem remove the bulk of the seeds. Don't worry about
getting every last seed out. Stuff the chile through this same incision,
with Monterey Jack cheese. Dredge in flour.

Mix batter at the last minute. Combine dry ingredients. Whisk the egg and
water together. Add dry ingredients to liquid and stir. Stir gently and
briefly, like tempura.

Dip dredged chile in batter and fry in an inch or two of 350°F oil.

Serve warm and soon. Put the chiles on a tray in a warm oven as needed
before serving.

I would say fry until golden brown and delicious, but mine didn’t really brown. They still tasted great. I don’t know, but it might be because I used mostly new oil. AB says the secret to getting a good brown on battered goods is old oil. But it also might have to do with my batter recipe. If you know, please enlighten us in the comments.