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.

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.

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'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.

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.

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

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.

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!

Please be careful doing this - some people with respiratory problems like asthma should not try it as the fumes will trigger an attack. I have extremely mild asthma and did not expect anything like the shortness of breath and coughing I experienced. I could not get my breath and had to use my inhaler two times, plus coughed most of the day. Too bad because the pepper was delicious!! (what we suffer for good food!)

Hi Elise
I've been stuffing peppers with oxtail meat - Pimientos Verdes Rellenos con Carne de Rabo. Roast and skin the peppers and then stuff with the meat and bake. Excellent. The recipe is from Menu del Dia by Rohan Daft