Pulled Chicken Chile Relleno Stuffed w/ Jalapeno Popper

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Reserve Champion at Sam's Regional Finals in Vegas, April 2014

Reserve Champion at Sam’s Regional Finals in Vegas, April 2014

 

I doused it in an airy egg batter and lovingly fried it to a golden hue before bathing it in a heavenly tomato-onion-chicken-cinnamon-clove sauce. Add the supporting cast of some green cilantro, white queso fresco (fresh Mexican cheese), and more sauce and I began to visualize the colors of the Mexican flag.   Mmmm . . . the flavors melded so wonderfully that it’ll make you cry, go loco, fall in love, and thought you died and gone to Heaven!

 

Roasted chilies, barbecue chicken, cheese, sauce, bacon . . .

Roasted chiles, barbecue chicken, cheese, sauce, bacon . . .

 

RECIPE: (serves 4.  I recommend you double and triple my recipe and make many. It freezes and reheats well)

Sauce:

If you’re short on time, you can use store-bought salsa–just add in the chicken broth, cinnamon & cloves.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp light olive oil (or your favorite cooking oil / lard)
1 small onion (or ½ of a medium to large onion); diced
1 twenty-eight oz can of whole tomatoes, including juice
1 jalapeno; seeds/veins removed & minced (add more if you like spicy)
2 garlic gloves; minced
1 cup chicken stock (canned, from bullion or homemade)
¼ tsp cinnamon (or ¼ of a stick)
2 cloves
salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Add the cooking oil to a frying pan and heat on medium high.
  2. Once oil is heated, add in the diced onions. Sauté onions until browned and slightly caramelized
    Saute until translucent

    Sauté until translucent

  3. Place into a blender the following: can of whole tomatoes w/ juice, the sautéed onions, minced jalapeno, and minced garlic.
  4. Pulse the blender a few times until the tomatoes & onions are to your liking–usually two to three seconds.
  5. Return the contents of the blender to the pan you sautéed the onions in along with the chicken stock, cinnamon & cloves.
  6. Bring to a simmer on high then reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until sauce is desired consistency (10-15 minutes usually depending on stove heat).
  7. Salt & pepper to taste
  8. Removes spent cloves.
    I like it chunky smooth. Pulse less if you like chunky

    I like it chunky smooth. Pulse more or less to your liking.

 

Stuffing:

Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABT’s) (below)
Pulled Chicken & Shredded Monterey Jack Mixture (below)

Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABT’s):

INGREDIENTS:

4 jalapenos
1/4 pkg cream cheese
4 slices of bacon
SYD chicken rub

Jalapeno Poppers (aka ABT) ingredients

Jalapeno Poppers (aka ABT) ingredients

 

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Cut tops off jalapenos.03_DSC_0062
  2. Core out jalapenos with butter knife (or coring tool).04_DSC_0071
  3. Stuff jalapeno with cream cheese. Note: don’t pack too tightly as the cream cheese needs room to expand.04_DSC_0075
  4. Wrap with a full slice of bacon and toothpick the end.05_DSC_0083
  5. Sprinkle on SYD chicken rub to your liking.06_DSC_0094
  6. Cook at 350-400F for 25-30 minutes on the kettle, indirect.10_DSC_0001-3-Edit
  7. Pull off the grill, set aside and let cool down12_DSC_0032

 

Pulled Chicken & Shredded Monterey Jack Mixture:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Pulled BBQ Chicken
4 oz grated Monterey Jack

DIRECTIONS:

  1. BBQ the chicken with SYD chicken rub. (Alternatively, you can grill or even purchase a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from Walmart.)50_DSC_0028
  2. Let the chicken cool down. (Refrigerate if needed.)
  3. Grate the Monterey Jack cheese.52_DSC_0067
  4. Combine grated cheese with chicken; cover and set aside. (Refrigerate if needed.)53_DSC_006855_DSC_0069

 

Chiles Rellenos:

INGREDIENTS:

4 Poblano chiles
Stuffing (above)

FOR DREDGING:

All Purpose White Flour

BATTER:

4 Egg Whites
4 Egg Yolks
1/4 teaspoon white flour

FRYING:

Oil
salt & pepper to taste

GARNISH:

Cilantro
Queso Fresco
Sauce (above)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Fill a chimney full of charcoal and let it get red hot & flaming all the way to the top
  2. Dump charcoal into one side of a grill (e.g. 22” Weber kettle) – banked
  3. Put the cooking grate on and let it heat up with hood on for a few minutes then clean
  4. Fire roast the chiles over the flaming hot briquettes with the kettle lid off. Roast long enough to peel the skin off easily but not too long as to have the chiles fall apart easily.40_DSC_0018
  5. Once cooked, place in a bag and let steam for around 10 minutes.43_DSC_002644_DSC_0027
  6. Scrape off cooked chile skins with a knife and/or use fingers.45_DSC_0036
  7. Make a slit down the chile about 2/3rds of the way.46_DSC_0046
  8. Remove veins and seeds with knife and/or hands.47_DSC_0049
  9. Lay in a thin layer of the chicken/jack cheese mixture.60_DSC_0077
  10. Lay an ABT inside over that layer.61_DSC_0079
  11. Then put more cheese & chicken over the ABT, just enough to allow the chiles to at least mostly close up.62_DSC_008163_DSC_0082
  12. Once all chiles are stuffed, carefully dredge them in flour and set aside.70_DSC_0098
  13. Separate the egg yolks from whites.  (An easy way is to carefully crack the egg into a small bowl and fish out the yolk with a spoon, as shown in the two photos provided.)80_DSC_000281_DSC_0005
  14. Put the whites in a mixing bowl (for use with either hand mixer or stand mixer).
  15. Whisk on high speed for a good minute or more until you have stiff peaks—add in a pinch or two of white flour while this is mixing.
  16. Turn the mixer speed down to stir and add in the egg yolk. Mix for a short while then remove mixing bowl.  Take a wooden spoon or silicone spatula and fold in any egg yolk that didn’t fully combine.

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  1. Heat up a cast iron skillet with about ¼ to ½ inch of cooking oil to 350F, then reduce heat to medium.
  2. Dip the floured stuffed poblano into the batter being careful not to lose any of the stuffing.  You can just coat one side then sit in the hot oil, then proceed to coat the other side while it is frying, using your wooden spoon or silicone spatula.

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  1. With a spatula, gently flip (danger hot oil) the chiles rellenos after one side gets golden brown—about a couple minutes or so.86_DSC_0020
  2. Let the other side get golden brown as well, then flip on its side to even out the golden crust.87_DSC_0021
  3. You can keep flipping it as many times as you like until you are satisfied with the overall goldenness.89_DSC_0026
  4. Then put the chiles rellenos on a cooling / wire rack over a tray to catch any grease.90_DSC_0030
  5. Once they are cooked you can serve immediately or let cool down, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze.  To heat up at a later time, thaw first if frozen, and preheat your oven to 400F and cook for about 10-15 minutes.
  6. Serve with refried beans & rice.  Garnish with cilantro, queso fresco and the sauce.DSC_0049-2-Edit