Creole Crawfish Rellenos Recipe

Aurora Catering's

Creole Crawfish Rellenos
Yield - 32 Relleno Servings

Ingredients
32 WHOLE ANAHEIM PEPPERS
STUFFING
1/2 LB PEELED CRAWFISH TAILS
1/2 LB MONTEREY JACK CHEESE
1/2 LB CREOLE CREAM CHEESE (Drained)
1/2 BUNCH CILANTRO (Chopped fine)
4 OZ JAR PIMENTOS (Drained)
1 TSP CHILE POWDER
1/2 TSP CUMIN
1/4 TSP CAYENNE PEPPER (Ground)
BATTER
5 EGGS (Separate yolks and whites)
4 TBSP YELLOW CORN FLOUR
1 TSP GRANULATED GARLIC

LOT PEANUT OIL

Method
Use a bar-b-cue pit to roast the peppers. (Charcoal with some mesquite wood chips give the peppers a nutty/smoke flavor.) Place the peppers on a hot grill and turn frequently. The skin of the peppers should turn a brown/black color. Cool the peppers, remove the skin by peeling with a small knife. Make a small slit into the meat of the pepper and remove the seeds. Combine the stuffing ingredients in a bowl, use a slotted spoon to mix ingredients thoroughly. Carefully open the pepper in the slit used to remove the seeds and stuff the peppers. Refrigerate peppers to insure that they are very cold when fried.

Whip the egg whites until fluffy peaks form. In a separate bowl mix the yolks, corn flour, and granulated garlic. Gently fold in the egg whites until a uniform constancy forms.

Choose a large Dutch oven (8 quart minimum), add oil and preheat to 350F. (Use a thermometer to insure proper temperature control). Dip the stuffed peppers in the batter (insure that the entire pepper is encapsulated in the batter) fry until golden brown. Use a sharp knife to cut into the cooked pepper, check to see that the batter is cook throughout.

Alternate Method
A standard broiler or salamander can be substituted for a bar-b-cue pit. Shrimp, scallops and/or crabmeat can be substituted for crawfish. Also yellow banana peppers or fresh poblano peppers may be substituted for the Anaheim peppers.

Plate Presentation
Arrange the peppers on a large pre-heated serving tray. Serve the rellenos with chili con queso and Cajun Salsa.

Chef's Notes:
A shallow frying process is traditionally used for cooking this dish. Fill a heavy skillet with about 1/2 inch of oil and fry the rellenos on each side. I, however, like to fry in plenty of oil because this will allow for faster frying because you are cooking on all sides at once. Also with plenty of oil you can maintain a constant temperature more easily.

The batter called for in this dish is the minimum required, feel free to make and use more.

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