Monday, February 21, 2011

Let's Take A Boston Butt. Option 2 - Chiles Rellenos.

The other day, Mr. Hawthorne crockpotted a 6-plus-pound Boston butt. For my first shot at this pork shoulder, I made pork enchiladas. Today, I'm making chiles rellenos with pork and cheese.
Thank you, Tammy, For Anticipation.
Interested?
Since we had leftover batter, we fried up some pickles too. On to the chiles:
Mr. Hawthorne added a little oil to his pan and added in the pork.
Stir to heat through.
Mr. Hawthorne added in a bit of my intense, complex salsa roja ... (You really should try making that salsa roja. It's like nothing you've ever had.)
... and some cumin.
Then he added in a little water to scrape up the goody bits on the bottom.
Our pork is ready. Set aside.
On to the chiles!
For stuffing chiles, I use either Poblanos or Anaheims. Be sure to pick smooth, non-blemished, shiny chiles.
Set over an open flame, or under a broiler, and blacken all over. Try to leave the stems intact so you can hold the stems when dipping and turning the chiles in the hot oil.
After blackening, plunge the chiles into ice water. Using fingers, rub blackened skin off.
Wipe with paper towels to get stubborn pieces of skin off.
Slice the chiles down the side so that chiles will lie flat.
Cut out seed cluster.
Besides the pork stuffing, I'll be using queso fresco and oaxaca.
I crumbled the queso and shredded the oaxaca.
Wipe out the peppers.
And stuff. With cheese.
With pork.
And some more cheese.
Press firmly to seal.
Stuff.
And press.
I toothpicked the edges and stuck the chiles in the freezer while I prepared the batter. Learned the freezer trick from Rick Bayliss on Mexico - One Plate At A Time.
For the batter: 3 eggs, separated, at room temperature pinch salt 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp cumin 1/4 cup flour Start whisking the whites.
Be sure your eggs are at room temperature. You'll be able to get a greater volume. Also, tilt the bowl a bit. This allows for better aeration. You're going for stiff peaks here. If you can turn the bowl upside down without the whites spilling out, then you've reached stiff-peak-stage.
Whisk in the yolks ...
... the flour and seasonings.
Cover the chiles in batter.
Holding the stem, dip chiles in the hot oil. Place one side down, turning to the other side to cover in oil and spoon hot oil over the top. Most important when frying is to have your oil at the proper temperature - 350 - 375 degrees. If you're not an experienced fryer, then I'd invest in a thermometer. Or a wooden spoon. Simply dip the end of the spoon in the hot oil and wait for bubbles to vigorously bubble out of the end. Oil is ready.
These took about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remember not to crowd the pan as this would lower the temperature of the oil, resulting in greasy, oily chiles.
Drain on paper towels.
I still had batter left over, so I sliced a zucchini and ...
... dropped them and some dill pickle slices into the batter.
If you've never had fried pickles, do yourself a favor and fry up some pickles.
Drain pickles and zucchini on paper towels.
This is just a plate full of happy. Serve with freshly made salsa, some sour cream, or even better, creme fraiche, if you had sense enough to make it the night before, and a sprinkling of cilantro.
Fried pickle. Check out the batter. Crunchy/crisp and light - the way a batter should be. With these chiles, I decided to make a slight adjustment. I added more cheese than usual.
That decision was a good one.
Ahhhhhh. Ah got a mouth full of happy.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reading your post, I felt like that song by Carly Simon, 'anticipation'! That's what it was like reading your post. And those last two photos left me drooling!
Bravo!
xx,
Tammy

Catherine said...

Oh My Goodness! This looks so, so GOOD! I must try this~I love hot peppers and these are calling me..Blessings, Catherine

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Hi, Tammy and Catherine

Thank you for your comments.
I always love hearing from my readers.
Hope you will try these dishes I present
and please offer your input. I so value hearing if someone actually tried something I proffer and how it turned out for them.

Rosie

Faith said...

I love chiles rellenos!!!! Extra cheese is ALWAYS a necessary in our house!