Chicken Chile Relleno with Florida Orange Salsa Verde
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
4 cups Florida orange juice
3 cups chopped onion
1 cup carrot, cut into ½-inch slices
1 cup celery, cut into ½-inch slices
6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons ground cumin
Water as needed
6 poblano peppers
2 cups shredded pepper Jack cheese
1 teaspoon orange zest, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 eggs, beaten
3 cups yellow cornmeal
Oil
Cilantro, for garnish
Preparation
Rinse chicken under cold water. Place in large stock pot; add orange juice, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and cumin. Add enough water to just cover chicken. Cover and bring to a simmer; lower heat to light simmer and cook until thermometer inserted in center of chicken breast reads 155°F. Remove stock pot from heat; cover and let stand for 45 minutes.
Remove chicken from stock and allow to cool slightly. Remove breasts and legs from chicken; shred breast meat and leg meat into 1-inch pieces and reserve.
Strain stock and discard any bones or vegetables. Place strained stock in large saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to about 2 cups. Remove from heat and refrigerate stock until cold.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Grill poblano peppers until charred on all sides. Remove peppers from grill; place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 5 minutes; peel charred skin from peppers. Make incision along one side of each pepper from stem to bottom; carefully remove seeds, keeping whole pepper intact. Reserve peppers..
Combine shredded chicken, pepper jack cheese, orange zest and chilled, reduced stock; mix well. Stuff poblano peppers with chicken mixture. Roll stuffed peppers in flour, then in beaten eggs, then in cornmeal.
Heat oil in deep fryer until 350° F. Carefully place peppers in fryer and cook until golden brown; remove and drain on paper towels. Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately with Florida Orange Salsa Verde.
Florida Orange Salsa Verde
Yield: 3 cups
Ingredients
2 cups Florida orange juice
2 cups tomatillos, diced
1 cup yellow onion, sliced
2 tablespoons jalapeño pepper, seeded, diced
½ cup cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
Preparation
Combine orange juice, tomatillos, onion, jalapeños in medium saucepan; bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes; remove from heat and cool slightly. Strain liquid and reserve. Place solids in blender along with cilantro, lime juice and orange zest. Blend, adding reserved liquid as necessary, until desired consistency.