Peppers Filled with Melted Cheese & Tender Brisket
Imagine a roasted poblano pepper stuffed with tender brisket and melted cheese then battered and fried to a beautiful golden brown. That's a brisket stuffed chile relleno. Yum.
Brisket is big in Austin, TX. Every barbecue joint worth its salt has brisket on the menu and for good reason, it's delicious. Whenever I cook a brisket I seem to have a lot leftover so I am always looking for creative ways to use it. Brisket stuffed chile rellenos is a great way to use some of that leftover brisket. Of course, you don't have to use leftover brisket. For this recipe, I bought a 4 pound brisket at my market and cut it half. Half went into this dish and the other half went into my freezer for another dish.
There are three things that make this brisket stuffed chile rellenos recipe standout. First, the brisket inside the chile relleno. It's very Texas and adds an unexpected beefy flavor to the dish. The second thing is the sauce. It's simple but adds a lot of flavor to the dish without adding a lot of heat because serrano peppers are fairly mild. Third, the batter on the peppers is very light and fluffy. Most chile relleno recipes use a flour-based batter that doesn't puff up very much. This recipe uses whipped egg whites, a few egg yolks and only one tablespoon of flour. It's like a meringue that is just perfect with the peppers, melted cheese and brisket.
Prepare the Chile Relleno Sauce
Preheat the oven to 250°F. To make the chile relleno sauce, start by heating the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and serrano pepper and cook until softened. Then, add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Carefully transfer the contents to a blender and add the cumin, cayenne pepper, chicken stock, tomatoes and cilantro. Puree until smooth, then add the salt and pepper and blend 15 more seconds.
Frizzle the Leeks for the Chile Relleno
Frizzled leeks add a lot of pop to this dish. The are a little crunchy and have a mild flavor. To make the leeks, heat oil in a high-sided saucepan to 350°F. Carefully drop the julienned leeks into the hot oil, a small bunch at at time, and cook until golden brown, about 1 minute. Be extremely careful when dropping the leeks into the oil. The water content in the leeks will cause the oil to abruptly boil and could easily boil over and ignite on the burner. Using only an inch of oil in a high-sided pan will help prevent this from happening.
Cook the Brisket
Trim most of the fat from the brisket. Place ¾ cup of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a Dutch oven then place the brisket on top of the mixture and pour the beer over the brisket. Add another ½ cup of the tomato mixture on top of the brisket, then cover and bake for 5 hours.
Make the Pico de Gallo
Mix the tomatoes, onions, serrano pepper, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff and Fry the Chile Relleno Peppers
Char the Peppers
This dish is better if the pepper are cooked in advance and the skin is removed. Start by charring the peppers on a barbecue grill or under the broiler with high heat until the skin is charred. Then turn the peppers over and char the other side. I suggest cooking a few extra peppers just in case one tears. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with foil and let them steam for 10 minutes. This will help loosen the charred skin. After 10 minutes, carefully rub the charred skin off each pepper using a dry paper towel. When the peppers are clean, make a slit down one side and carefully remove the seeds. Do not pull on the ribs inside as that will cause the pepper to tear.
Prepare the Cooked Peppers
Cut the brisket across the grain in ¾" slices. The slices will be about 1" tall. Lay each slice down and cut in half lengthwise. Place the cut brisket in a medium bowl and add some of the cooking liquid and stir.
Preheat 1 ½" of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat to 350°F. Also, preheat the oven to 200°F. Carefully spoon a heaping tablespoon of the brisket into each pepper. Add two strips of cheese and close the slit with a 6" length of a wooden skewer (they are easier to find and easier to remove than toothpicks).
Make the Batter and Fry the Chile Rellenos
For the batter, whip the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Beat two of the egg yolks together with the flour and salt. Then add about ½ cup of the beaten egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and stir to combine. Add the egg yolk mixture back to the egg whites and mix together. The batter will be very light and fluffy. Make the batter when your are all done with the peppers and ready to fry because the batter will only last about 10-15 minutes before it breaks down.
Plate and Serve
Pour ¼ cup of the sauce on a plate and place a chile relleno on top of the suace. Top with pico de gallo, a bit of Mexican crema and frizzled leeks. Enjoy
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Other Great Recipes
Brisket Stuffed Chile Rellenos
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tbs olive oil
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 2 serrano peppers stemmed, with seeds
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin ground
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup chicken stock low sodium
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- ½ bunch cilantro leaves chopped
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
Brisket
- 2 pounds brisket flat, fat trimmed
- 12 oz Negra Modelo Beer
- 1 ¼ cups sauce from above
Pico de Gallo
- 4 roma tomatoes diced
- ½ cup white onion diced
- 1 serrano pepper stemmed, with seeds
- ½ bunch cilantro chopped
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
Frizzled Leeks
- 3 leeks julienned into 1" strips, white and light green parts only
- 1 inch vegetable oil for frying leeks
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Chile Rellenos
- 8 poblano peppers
- 8 wooden skewers
- 10 oz Oaxaca cheese cut into ½" strips
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 tbs flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Sauce
- Preheat the oven to 250°F. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and serrano pepper and cook until softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more. Carefully transfer the contents to a blender.
- Add the cumin, cayenne pepper, chicken stock, tomatoes and cilantro. Puree until smooth. Add the salt and pepper and blend 15 more seconds.
Brisket
- Trim most of the fat from the brisket. Place ¾ cup of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Place the brisket on top and pour the beer over the brisket. Add another ½ cup of the tomato mixture on top of the brisket. Cover and bake for 5 hours.
Frizzled Leeks
- Heat oil in a high-sided pan to 350°F. Carefully drop the leeks into the hot oil a few at a time and cook until golden brown, about 1 minute. Be extremely careful when dropping the leeks into the oil. The water content will cause the oil to abruptly boil and could easily boil over and ignite on the burner. Using only an inch of oil in a high sided pan will help prevent this.
Pico de Gallo
- Mix the tomatoes, onions, serrano pepper, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff the Chile Rellenos
- Char the peppers on a barbecue grill or under the broiler with high heat until the skin is charred. Rotate the pepper and char the other side. Cook a few extra peppers in case one tears. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with foil and let them steam for 10 minutes. Carefully rub the charred skin off the pepper using a dry paper towel. Make a slit down one side and carefully remove the seeds. Do not pull on the ribs inside as that will cause the pepper to tear.
- Cut the brisket across the grain in ¾" slices. Lay each slice done and cut each slice in half lengthwise. Place the cut brisket in a medium bowl and add some of the cooking liquid and stir.
- Preheat 1 ½" of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat to 350°F. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Carefully spoon a heaping tablespoon of the brisket into each pepper. Add two strips of cheese and close the slit with a 6" length of a wooden skewer (they are easier to find and remove than toothpicks after cooking).
- For the batter, whip the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Beat two of the egg yolks together with the flour and salt. Then add about ½ cup of the beaten egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and stir to combine. Add the egg yolk mixture back to the egg whites and mix together. The batter will be very light and fluffy.
- When the oil is hot, carefully dip a stuffed pepper into the batter. Use a spoon to coat the top, then lift the pepper by the stem and drop it into the hot oil. Repeat with a second pepper. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes then turn the peppers over and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels and place in the oven to keep warm. Work in batches to cook all of the peppers.
- To plate, add ¼ cup of the sauce to the bottom of a plate. Place a cooked pepper on top of the sauce. Drizzle with Mexican Crema and garnish with pico de gallo and frizzled leeks and serve.
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