Chile Rellenos Batter

[rockycat]

The chiles rellenos I recently had a a local Jalisco-style restaurant were so far above and beyond anything I've had at the usual Tex-Mex joints. The batter was light and airy, something akin to a properly made Francese batter. I've Googled recipes and seen a few different versions. What is the "right" way to make the batter? All eggs, no flour? Some flour in the eggs? Dredge the peppers in flour, then eggs?

Thanks.

[Eat_Nopal]

FYI... "Francese"... was probably stolen (as was typical in early French gastronomy) from the Portugese / Extramaduran Spanish.

[Eat_Nopal]

Almost everybody I know.... dredges in flur, then eggs then pan frying (not deep frying). But there are certainly variations... some deep fry (in my opion a fast food short cut), others do beer batters etc.,

[caviar_and_chitlins]

A third for the beating of the whites, then folding in the yolks that have been beaten with a little flour. There's a post around here from last fall when I was in a relleno craze that describes it perfectly.

Here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/427860

[scubadoo97]

Look at this web site. Very traditional methods used

http://rollybrook.com/chiles_rellenos...

[scubadoo97]

Here is a photo of my attempt at Rolly's recipe

[sarah galvin]

That looks pretty good! I just made chile rellenos and we had a beaten egg white type of batter, dredged roasted poblanos in flour and fried. Rustic! And nice.

[toodie jane]

got a recipe for the side dish???

[francelle]

The trick to making the batter light and airy is beating the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Then you can use the same basic recipe you have. I love chile rellenos but hate making them since they are time consuming and messy. If you have trouble making the batter stick to the chile, you can pour a line of batter in the oil, place the stuffed chile on top of the batter, and then cover the chile with batter.

[Passadumkeg]

Or when really lazy, dump the batter over the rellanos and bake at 450. Viola(sic) Chili rellanos casarole

[Pampatz]

This is the way that I learned in Texas and it's similar to the way that the Purepecha ladies fix their rellenos on Sunday's in their outdoor cafe here in Michoacan.
Seperate eggs - one per relleno. Beat up the egg whites til soft peaks form. Then beat the yolks with a little flour, 2 tsp for 4 yolks and about 1 tsp of water. Fold the whites and the yolks together.
Lightly dust the stuffed peppers with flour and dip in the egg batter. The key is a thin coating of batter. In Michoacan, the ladies cook in rendered pork fat on a comal over a wood fire. I use corn oil on a cast iron griddle on a gas stove.
The Purepechan ladies also make a thin tomato-based sauce that is really nice with the rellenos. I haven't mastered the sauce yet. They vary the fillings from crumbly cheese to a picadillo.
Provecho.

[dano]

never added flour to the batter. jest dregded the chile in flour and proceeded as above.