Chile Relleno Con Cerveza - Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven Casserole Version
Easy one-pot dinner meal with Pobalno Chilies, Ground Beef, and Cheese. A no-fail beauty in your 12-inch camp cast iron Dutch oven.
Equipment
- Bowl to hold the browned beef.
- Bowl to create the egg mixture.
- Gallon-Sized Zipper Bag
- Parchment Paper
- Tongs to turn the chilies.
- Wooden Spatula
- Wooden Wok Shovel
- Meat Chopper
Ingredients
- 6-8 Poblano Chilies - more is okay
- 2 Pounds of Ground Beef
- 8 Large Eggs
- 1 Chopped Onion
- 3-6 Cloves Minced Garlic
- 3 Cups Colby Jack Cheese - Divided
- 2.25-4.5 Ounces Sliced Olives - Drained
- 1 Can of Fire Roasted Chopped Tomatoes - Drained
- 8 oz Sliced Mushrooms
- 1 Cup Mexican Lager - or another easy-drinking lager
Dry Ingredients
- ½ Cup White Flour
- ¼ Cup Cornmeal or Corn Flour
- 1 tsp Salt more or less to taste
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 TBL Smoked or Regular Paprika
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1-2 TBL Fresh Chopped Oregano - or 1-2 tsp dry
- 1-2 TBL Fresh Chopped Thyme - or 1-2 tsp dry
- Chili Powder for Dusting the top of the Dish
- ½ - 1 TBL Butter or Oil - optional
Instructions
- Set a charcoal chimney full of briquettes to fire - To Roast the Chilies and to Saute the Beef, Onions, Garlic, and Mushrooms
- Prepare the Egg Mixture - add the white flour, corn flour (or corn meal), cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper, add the herbs, and eight eggs. Blend very well. Add the one cup of beer and mix in well.
- Blister and Roast the Pobalno Chiles over the hot charcoal briquettes.
- Add the Roasted Pobalno Chiles to the Sweat Bag and let rest.
- Brown one pound of ground beef at a time - store the two pounds of browned ground beef in a container for later.
- Saute the Onions and the Garlic - You may need to add a bit of butter or oil to the pot if the pot seems too “dry” to saute the onions, garlic, and the mushrooms.
- While the second pound of ground beef is browning, set 24-30 charcoal briquettes to fire. We'll use these briquettes to bake the casserole later after we've put it together.
- While you are sauteing, peel the poblano chilies and remove the stems, seeds, and placenta. Some seeds remain.
- Once the Onions and the Garlic have cooked at bit, add the Mushrooms and let them Cook in a bit with the Onions and the Garlic.
- Return the Browned Ground Beef Back to the Dutch Oven - give everything a good mixing - There is no more mixing after this step - only layering.
- Spread (rather sprinkle) the chunks of tomato and sliced olives over the ground beef mixture in the pot.
- Spread 1 ½ Cups of shredded Colby Jack Cheese.
- Cover the Entire Dish with the Peeled and Prepared Pobalano Chilies
- Pour over the Egg/Beer Mixture
- Cover the Entire Dish with the Remaining Cheese
- Dust the Entire Dish with some Chili Powder
- Bake your Casserole for 30-45 Minutes and Until the Dish is Cooked - Turn the pot every 15 minutes and check for doneness after 30 minutes.
- Give the dish a peek. Is it done? I will likely be fully set and baked. Give it a test to see. You could use a thermometer. Casseroles with egg and meat should be baked until the internal temperature of your casserole reaches 165°F / 74°C.
Notes
A note on the ground beef: I will brown one pound of ground beef at a time in the pot. I will use a 85/15 (15% fat) pound of ground beef and a leaner pound somewhere around 93/7 (7% fat). The first pound of ground beef will go straight in the pot and without oil. The fat from the higher percentage beef will render the fat for browning the second pound of beef. This is not a perfect science. Having some oil on hand for browning the beef and sauteing the onions and garlic is a good idea.
ALSO: Brown one pound at a time. If you put too much ground beef in that hot pot, the pot will cool and the beef will not steam off well enough to keep the moisture from building up. We want to brown and sear the beef and not end up boiling it in its own juices.
A note on the Poblano Chilies: After fire-roasting the chilies and putting them in the bag or container to sweat and soften, I usually just peel them and remove the stems, seeds, and placentas by hand.
It’ll have a rich and smoky flavor with some heat to it. To me, poblano chiles are sort of variable as to the amount of heat they offer. I usually consider them to be mild to medium when deciding on the people I am cooking for. If you want a milder version, use anaheim peppers instead of poblano chiles.
You all enjoy this with a bit of avocado and sour cream.
Substitute: You could substitute anaheim peppers for the poblano chiles.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!