Tex-Mex Chile Rellenos with Quick Ranchero Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Fire-charred poblanos stuffed with a Monterey Jack and cheddar blend, dipped in a whipped egg batter and fried until the coating puffs into a golden soufflé shell, then spooned with a fast skillet ranchero sauce. This is the full walkthrough — how to blister and peel the chiles without tearing them, and how to beat a batter stable enough to cling — plus a lighter baked version for weeknights.

Ingredients

• 4 large poblano peppers, firm and straight-sided
• 6 oz Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 1/2-inch batons
• 2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 14.5-oz can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dredging

• 3 cups vegetable or canola oil, for frying
• 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• Mexican rice and refried beans, for serving

• 8 wooden toothpicks

Instructions

1. Char the poblanos: set them directly on a gas burner over a medium-high flame, or on a foil-lined sheet 4 inches under a broiler set to high. Turn every 2 to 3 minutes with tongs until the skin is blistered and blackened all over, 8 to 12 minutes total. Aim to blacken the skin only — if the flesh collapses, the chile will tear when you stuff it.
2. Immediately pile the hot chiles in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap (or seal in a paper bag). Steam 15 minutes; the trapped moisture loosens the skins.
3. Peel while warm: rub the blackened skin off with your fingers or scrape gently with the back of a paring knife, working from stem to tip. Do not rinse under running water — it waterlogs the flesh and washes away smoke. If a spot refuses to peel, leave it.
4. Make a single 2 1/2-inch lengthwise slit in each chile starting just below the stem. Slide a small spoon or your fingertip in and pull out the seed pod and any loose seeds, keeping the stem and shoulders intact. Blot the chiles inside and out with paper towels and set them on a rack; a dry chile holds batter far better.
5. Make the sauce: heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan over medium. Cook the onion with a pinch of salt until soft, 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, and cumin and stir 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes, broth, oregano, salt, and sugar. Simmer, partly covered, 12 to 15 minutes until it coats a spoon. Keep warm over low heat.
6. Toss the Monterey Jack batons and shredded cheddar with 1/4 teaspoon cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stuff each chile with about 2 ounces of the mixture, packing it in gently, then pin the slit closed with 2 toothpicks laced across the opening like stitches. Do not overfill — cheese that touches the batter will burst out in the oil.
7. Pour 1 1/2 inches of frying oil into a deep 10- or 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven and heat to 360°F over medium. Set a wire rack over a sheet pan nearby. Spread the 1/2 cup dredging flour on a plate.
8. Whip the batter last, right before frying: beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon salt on medium-high with a hand mixer until they hold firm, glossy peaks that do not slump, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk the yolks with the 3 tablespoons flour in a separate bowl until smooth and pale, then fold the yolk mixture into the whites in three additions with a rubber spatula, stopping the moment it is uniform. The batter should mound thickly on the spatula.
9. Roll a stuffed chile in the dredging flour and tap off all excess, then hold it by the stem and lower it into the batter, spooning batter over to blanket it completely. Lift, let the drips fall, and lay it away from you into the oil.
10. Fry two chiles at a time for 2 to 3 minutes per side, basting the exposed top with hot oil from the pan using a spoon so the batter sets and puffs. The coating should be deep golden and firm. Lift with a spider or two forks, drain on the rack, and season with a pinch of salt. Bring the oil back to 360°F between batches.
11. Pull the toothpicks. Spoon warm ranchero sauce onto four plates, set a chile relleno on each, and top with queso fresco and cilantro. Serve immediately with Mexican rice and refried beans — the puffed coating deflates within a few minutes.
12. BAKED WEEKNIGHT SHORTCUT: heat the oven to 425°F and oil a rimmed sheet pan. Char, peel, and stuff the chiles as above through step 6. Whisk 2 eggs with 3 tablespoons flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt (no whipping needed), dip the floured chiles, then press them into 1 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes or panko mixed with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Set on the pan, mist or drizzle with oil, and bake 18 to 22 minutes until the crust is browned and the cheese is molten. Serve with the same sauce.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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