How to Roast Chile Peppers over a Gas Flame

The only time you'll ever hear my mother complain about her electric range is when she wants to roast some Anaheim chiles. Of course you can put them in a broiler, but according to mom, it's just not the same. She can never get the chiles close enough to the broiler burner, so that they don't burn but they do get charred. The secret to roasting a chile pepper is to char or blister the skin completely, so it's easy to peel off. Mom also notes that the flavor is different when you cook the peppers in a broiler. Cooking directly over the flame chars the peel faster and doesn't overcook the chile. Here are the steps, as mom taught me. You can also check out the tutorial on video at YouTube. Many thanks to fellow Sacramento food blogger Garrett of Vanilla Garlic for the use of his gas range.

1 Turn your gas burner on to high. Place the chile pepper directly on the gas burner. Let the chile pepper sit on the burner as its skin begins to bubble and turn black (about a minute).

2 Once one side gets pretty well blistered, use tongs (or you can grab the stem with your fingers) to turn the chile to another side. Repeat until the chile gets blistered or charred on all sides. Obviously you need to pay close attention to the chile. It should just blister and char a bit, not catch fire.

3 Place the chile in a brown paper bag. Close the bag and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes. The steam from the hot chile will help the peel come off easier.

4 Remove the chile from the bag. Use your fingers to rub off the skin. You may find it easier to do this under running water. Remove and discard the stem, seeds, and veins.

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