Can fresh Poblano peppers be used raw?

Question

I was thinking about making a pasta salad with roasted, peeled Poblanos and started to wonder if raw diced Poblanos might work and add a bit of crispness (texture) as bell peppers do.

Since I have only ever used Poblanos that have been roasted and peeled, I started searching for recipes. I haven't been able to find any recipes of any kind that use raw Poblanos.

At the same time, I haven't found anything that says there is any reason not to use them raw. So, I'm wondering if it's a taste or texture thing, or if there is any other reason.

You can eat them raw, but the skin's texture isn't nice. – Batman Jul 25 '17 at 17:36 — Batman, Jul 25 '17 at 17:36

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 25 '17 at 17:57

7

The skin is thick and waxy. If you've got a vegetable peeler which takes off very thin slices, you could peel them. If you have a Brûlée torch or something similar, you could also just burn the skin off while keeping the flesh uncooked.

answered Jul 25 '17 at 17:57

ChefAndy

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Or just the flame of a gas stove. In either case, it might be wise to avoid directly breathing in the smoke - depending on how sensitive you are, even a 3000 scoville pepper might be unpleasantly irritant... – rackandboneman Mar 21 '18 at 21:32
@rackandboneman The flame of most home gas stoves isn't intense enough to burn the skin quick enough to avoid cooking the flesh. It's a great way to fire roast poblanos, but if you're looking for raw skinless poblanos, you really need a torch. I use a plumbing torch and get raw poblanos with no skin. I use my stove I get roasted poblanos. – ChefAndy May 28 '19 at 16:52

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 25 '17 at 18:33

At between 1000-3500 on the Scoville scale poblanos are certainly safe to use raw. Cleaning(removing the insides) would help to mellow them. Peeling them would probably be good, and that is challenging with a raw poblano. Torching them (per @SomeInterwebDev) to make them peel easily is a good idea, or just roast them...

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 21 '18 at 18:07

I just had a raw poblano along with some tinned corned mutton to which I had added a bit of Sri Lanken Maldive Fish Sambal. A glass of water and a couple of corn tortillas completed my repast. I have heard others complain about the tough skin of the poblano but it posed no problem for my teeth and was juicy, delicious, and had a faint hint of smokiness. I enjoy them cooked too but raw is a nice change at times.

Can fresh Poblano peppers be used raw?

3 Answers3