Like chicken-fried steaks, chile rellenos range from hideous to glorious. At their best, made from freshly roasted chiles that still have muscular vegetable walls, stuffed with cream-rich molten queso, and haloed in a coat of featherweight batter fried to a fragile crisp, they are food of the gods. Nearly all of those encountered in the Southwest are made from mild pods—Anaheims, Big Jims, or poblanos—so the chile experience is far more about their sunshiny flavor than about any kind of ferocious heat. Rellenos usually are served decorated with sauce or salsa cruda, and while cheese is the classic filling, some are stuffed also with beef brisket, picadillo (beef hash), or shredded chicken.
In 1992, the term jalapeño popper was trademarked by a Wisconsin food company, recognizing the immense popularity of cheese-stuffed, deep-fried jalapeño peppers. These pint-size, three-alarm variations of chile rellenos are an ideal bar snack.