Venison and Queso Chile Rellenos
This venison and cheese stuffed chile relleno recipe with a quick smoky tomato sauce and light fluffy egg batter is worth the effort!
Ingredients
Chile Rellenos
- 4 large poblano peppers
- 2 c. grated Chihuahua cheese
- ½ lb ground venison can use beef or chorizo
- 1-3 T. chili powder to taste
- 1-2 tsp. ground cumin
- ½ large onion small dice
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- Neutral oil for frying peanut
Egg batter & dredge:
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs room temperature, separated
Smoky salsa roja
- ½ large onion medium diced
- 6-8 medium roma or paste tomatoes cored & diced
- 1-2 Tbsp. minced jalapeno (use green jalapeno, or a mix of green and red jalapeno)
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- 1-2 Tbsp. mesquite smoked butter (substitute bacon drippings or plain butter and increase smoked paprika to 1 tsp)
- 2-3 cloves garlic chopped
- salt to taste use smoked salt if you don't have smoked butter
Instructions
Prepare Peppers & Filling
- Roast whole poblanos over gas burner, in broiler, or on a grill until lightly charred. Put the hot roasted peppers in a covered container to steam.
- Rub to remove the skins, and carefully cut out the stem and remove the seeds. Set peppers aside.
- Preheat a saute pan and sear ground meat with spices over medium-high heat until browned. Reduce heat to medium, add onion and garlic and sweat until onion is translucent. Let cool slightly.
Smoky Tomato Sauce
- Start your sauce- sweat the onion in the butter with a bit of salt until onion is transparent. Add chopped tomatoes and seasonings and simmer on low for about 20 minutes, stirring often.
- Puree sauce lightly with an immersion blender or transfer to a regular blender. Leave somewhat chunky- this is a thick, rustic sauce. Keep hot.
Assemble and Fry Peppers
- Stuff your peppers- alternate with spoonfuls of cheese and meat filling. If any tear or have large openings in the top, secure with a toothpick.
- Season the flour to taste on a plate or shallow dish, and dredge the peppers in the flour to evenly coat. Pop them in the freezer on a sheet pan for a few minutes to firm up while you make the batter and they're easier to handle.
- A heavy cast iron pan or dutch oven works well to pan fry these. Fill with several inches of oil- about halfway up the pan or enough to half cover the peppers if using a dutch oven. Start heating your oil.
- Put a wire rack on a sheet pan in the oven and set it to keep warm (170-200 F).
- Separate the eggs, and beat the whites to stiff peaks, then fold in the yolks and add a pinch of salt.
- Roll the peppers in the egg mixture and fry 2 at a time- this is messy! Make sure the batter covers the top of the pepper to seal in the filling.
- Transfer the peppers with a slotted spoon to the rack in the oven to drain and stay hot while you fry the second batch. Remove any toothpicks before serving!
- Serve with rice, warm tortillas, taco garnishes (onion, cilantro, radish, and avocado) and refried beans if you like! You can make tacos with any extra ground meat filling or just eat it over rice.
Notes
You can substitute lean ground beef or Mexican chorizo for the ground venison. Or, use soy-rizo (soy chorizo) or plant-based crumbles to make a vegetarian version of these.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!