I agree that running the pepper under water helps make peeling off the skin easier, but you lose a lot of flavor that way. The best way to avoid having to do this is to make sure that you char the chile very well and that every single spot on it is charred. Uncharred spots of skin won't come off easily without water.

I am from Mexico and ever since I can remember my mom used that method to peel peppers. When I was about 12 I started helping in the restaurant my parents used to own and I sometimes had to roast peppers. So many memories.

Thanks for sharing this excellent blog.

Wow, very impressive. You have the perfect voice for it too. Was Garrett your photographer? I've always wanted to try roasting red peppers over the flame of the stove, so this has inspired me to try it.

I now want to know what you're making with these. Please say it's 'chile verde.' Yum Yum Yum.

Wow, it all came out so well!! Yayness! It was so much fun doing this with you!

I use the broiler as well as the stovetop -- the broiler works best if you are roasting several at once. The net results are pretty much exactly the same.

I have an electric range as well. When the weather doesn't permit me to use the gas burner on my grill, I use a kitchen torch to char my peppers. It works well and is a lot more fun than using the broiler.

I've recently switched from the paper bag method to wrapping the roasted pepper in a wet paper towel. After five minutes of steaming and cooling, the paper towel can easily be used to rub off the charred skin.

About twice a year I make a huge pot of chili verde, which means I have to roast about 50 Anaheim chilis. For large quantities like that, I pull out the barbecue grill. Crack a beer, pull up a chair, and flip chilis in the afternoon sun.

I agree that running the chile under water results in a loss of flavor. To make removing the charred skin easier I scrape it off with a knife (hold the blade perpendicular to the chile) rather than peel it with my fingers.

I'm also from Mexico, and I could picture my mom roasting them on the stove as I read. The only thing is that she doesn't use a PAPER bag, but instead a PLASTIC bag. I just realized why she does this. It keeps all the humidity without absorbing it (paper bags and towels do) which helps when peeling of the skin (more moisture to make the skin come off and she peels them still inside the bag as well). So the taste won't go away and all the skin is kept in the bag.

I've done this for years. A friend of mine fries hers, but I agree with your mom, you get better flavor when you char it over a flame. I have also charred peppers in a cast iron pan. Before we remodeled my last house, it had an electric stove and I was desperate. I have also charred them on a gas grill too. I love the smell of charring peppers. The neighbors get the scent too if you do it on the grill. My son can always tell when I'm making chile rellenos, or salsa when he walks in the house.

Hi,

This may sound really silly to most people here, but it seems strange to me to be charring a chile over a GAS flame. Won't the residual chemical from the gas flame get into the chile? I just don't feel it's very safe to roast the chile that way. Perhaps someone can enlighten me? I am not from US or Mexico.

This method is good, however to avoid having to wash with water (and loose flavor), I agree with Walkiria that a plastic bag should be used.
We go through a LOT of roasted chillies (and capsicum) in the cafe I work at and using the plastic bag method is the most effective, plus you don't have to wash away any of the flavor.

Elise I do mine over the flame too. The flavour is much nicer than roasted..and I love how the kitchen smells when they flame roast.

Hi Elise

I roast jalapeno and red bell peppers for the salsa and the cheese I make. I have a frying pan that over the years had worn out. I now use it as a grilling pan for roasting peppers or veggies under the broiler in my oven. I roast the red bell pepper till it is black then removed it and put in the jalapeno peppers. I let the roasted peppers sit on a plate to cool while I do other prep. I don't have any problems removing the cooled but not cold charred skins.

Linda

Please remember to use plastic gloves when peeling hot chiles. Some of the worst pain in my life happened when I forgot to use gloves or a plastic bag when peeling the chilis. It felt like someone was holding a lighter up to my skin for about 8 hours.

I have a small grill plate (with wooden handles and metal legs that lifted it about 1/2 inch over the burner) that I used successfully even when I was cursed with an electric stove. With it, I managed to blacken the skin and inpart the roasted flavor just fine. Happily, I have a gas stove now.

A taste of heaven on earth is vegetarian new mexico "bowl of green": 12 diced roasted green new mexico chiles, mixed with a half can of tomatoes, chunks of tofu, oregano and salt, sauted onion, salt. They must be roasted as in the blog, not canned.

I, too, use a small screen frame of stainless-steel hardware cloth (like rabbit-cage wire) about 10 inches square, with the corners cut out, so the whole thing folds up about an inch above the stove. Works just fine over the electric range! Give it a try, if it's all you got!