Barbecued Brisket Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Mexican Cole Slaw

Being enamored with my cheese stuffed Anaheim peppers, the recipe for which can be found here, I promised to do more recipes with stuffed peppers, which in Spanish is call a "relleno."  This is not to be confused with a specific, classic Tex-Mex dish called Chilies Relleno, which typically is batter dipped and deep fried after stuffing.  However, I've had a dish similar to this one at a popular Tex-Mex restaurant in Dallas and they did call it Chilies Relleno, so I think there is some latitude in recipe interpretation here.  Nevertheless, if you have some leftover barbecued beef brisket, this is a great way to finish it off.  If you don't have any leftover beef brisket, you can get to work on it by following my recipe here.

Poblano peppers are generally considered milder than Anaheim peppers, but that is not always true, so know your source unless you're really into capsaicin, the chemical compound that gives chili peppers their heat. Regardless, when you slice the Poblanos open, you'll remove the seed pod that rests beneath the stem.  You might find a few additional seeds attached to the white ribs in the cavity of the pepper.  The more seeds you find in those locations, the hotter the pepper will be.  If the seeds are mostly contained to the pod beneath the stem, the pepper will contain less capsaicin.

This post also includes a Mexican Cole Slaw recipe.  Mexican Cole Slaw is defined by the addition of fresh chopped cilantro in a traditional cabbage/carrot mix, with a vinegar-based dressing that includes fresh lime juice. The vinaigrette recipe I used included a half teaspoon of cumin.  That was a mistake.  Cumin is a powerful, aromatic spice that is best left for use in heartier recipes like chili con carne.  It upset the balance of the light vinaigrette that I was shooting for.  I have therefore omitted it in the recipe below, and added some sweetness to the dressing.  You can use honey, sugar or an artificial sweetener like Splenda. 

Inspiration for the stuffed Poblano peppers came from the Outgrilling website.  His version, however, was meant to be finished on the grill.  As usual, I altered the recipe slightly and roasted my Poblanos in the oven.

Ingredients
For the Peppers
6 large Poblano peppers
14-16 oz barbecued beef brisket, chopped (about 3 cups)
2 cups Mexican blend cheese, shredded
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
14.5-oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained (like, Hunt's)
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp garlic powder
olive oil for drizzling
Crema Mexicana for drizzling

Ingredients
For the Cole Slaw
10-oz bag prepared "Angel Hair" Cabbage (like, Dole or Fresh Express)
1 cup carrots, shredded
3-4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup avocado oil
1 tsp sugar (you can substitute honey or 1 table packet of Splenda)
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 dashes Tabasco Sauce

The Recipes
Pre-heat the oven to 375F degrees. 

Place the pepper on a cutting board in a position that ensures the pepper is laying flat.  Leaving the stem intact, slice out a 'V' shaped section of the top side of the Poblano so you are creating a little "boat."  Remove the seed pod that rests beneath the stem and any seeds that might be attached to the white ribs of the pepper inside its cavity.  Give it a good rinse inside and out, and dry with paper towels.

Your slices of brisket should be cold when you chop them.  It's much easier to handle the meat this way.  Chop the brisket until you have small cubes of meat, about the size of blueberries.

Add the chopped brisket, drained petite diced tomatoes, green onion, the Mexican blend shredded cheese and the garlic powder to a large mixing bowl.  Thoroughly mix the ingredients together until they are uniformly distributed.

Stuff each Poblano pepper with the brisket cheese mixture; mound it up over the side of the pepper as high as it will go, then top with the shredded cheddar cheese.

Place the peppers on a sheet pan or cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and drizzle with the olive oil.  Bake the peppers in the upper part of your oven for an hour until the peppers are crinkled and the cheese is melted, browned a bit and bubbly.

While the peppers are cooking, blend the angle hair cabbage, chopped green onions, chopped cilantro and shredded carrots in a large mixing bowl and place in the fridge for at least thirty minutes.

In another mixing bowl, blend the cider vinegar, lime juice, sugar (or substitute), celery seed, celery salt, black pepper and Tabasco.  Whisk thoroughly, then add the avocado oil and whisk again.  Set aside at room temperature until the last minute, then add the dressing to the Cole Slaw mix and toss to ensure all the vegetables are coated.  Serve in chilled salad bowls.

By the way, you can discard the sections of the Poblano peppers you removed to make the little boats, or you can save for other purposes.  In my case, I had enough stuffing left over to line a small casserole dish with the pepper slices, and spooned the stuffing mixture on top.  I baked it, covered, in the oven with the peppers and the dish created a little snack while I did the dishes.