Stuffed peppers question

[willingheart]

I want to make stuffed peppers for dinner. I looked up some recipes and they all say to precook the meat and rice and sauce mixture. I always imagined putting the raw meat mixture in the peppers and baking it. It bakes for a long time anyway, why wouldnt' it work like meatloaf? Anybody make stuffed peppers without pre-cooking?
Lara

 

[Andy M.]

There wouldn;t be enough liquid to cook the rice.

 

[YT2095]

and you have to account for Shrinkage too, although I only Half cook the rice when I stuff the peppers and then only when the stuffing is cold.

for larger veg like squash, just soak the rice, you don`t have to cook it at all, for peppers as Andy says, you must cook it some

in addition, pre-cooking the meat gives you chance to take away all the excess fats too.

 

[willingheart]

I just mean

I would use cooked rice. I just mean, can I put the meat mixture in raw? I see what you mean about shrinkage, though, I guess it would pull away from the peppers and be less exciting.

 

[YT2095]

well there`s nothing worse than taking them out swimming in grease too

 

[StirBlue]

I have not stuffed peppers with raw meat, uncooked rice, and cold sauce mixed together. I have made up meatloaf fixings and cooked it in muffin pans. There was no place for the drippings to run off. So the mini loaf muffins were saturated with the drippings and it caused all the ingredients to separate. I had filled the cups about 2/3 full and placed a biscuit on top of each. Sounds pretty neat but the biscuits burned because of the fat. There was no saving this nasty mess. And the burnt biscuits caused a bad stink. I am sure we ate out far far from home.
I think you would have the same problem with your peppers. The fat would probably scorch the peppers and disintegrate them. The rice would just be a victim of circumstances.
My friend who makes delicious stuffed peppers cooks the peppers for a few minutes in boiling water and then stuffs them. It takes no time at all to heat them in the oven. She does use small/med bells. They are very bland so when she brings me a batch, I make a hot spicy sauce to pour over them.

 

[StirBlue]

The thing that I forgot to tell you was when made correctly, they freeze very well. And taste great when reheated. It is nice to make an extra batch for another day. Kids hate stuffed green peppers but they love stuffed tomatoes.

 

[Katie H]

Willingheart, when I make stuffed peppers I usually parboil the peppers for a couple of minutes before I stuff them. Cut the tops off and scoop out all the membrane and seeds. Plunge them into boiling water for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove them from the water with a strainer or tongs, gently, and turn them upside down on a rack or some paper towels so all the liquid drains out. When drained and cool enough to handle stuff with your "cooked" mixture. Never heard of a recipe where the stuffing ingredients haven't been cooked.

Now, here's where I do things a little differently than some folks. Instead of filling a whole pepper, I cut them in half the long way. Turning them into little pepper "boats." I then stuff them and can put them in a baking dish with about 1/4 inch of water and bake according to the recipe directions, but checking about 3/4 of the baking time to be sure they aren't getting overcooked. Just poke them with a fork. The fork should easily go into the flesh of the pepper.

If you want to stuff them whole and are afraid they won't stand up, put them in an angel food cake pan (tube pan) and line them up around the tube.

 

[Chipotles]

Hello... This is my first post so please be patient with me...

I always make the stuffed peppers with raw meat and uncooked rice. This is the way I was thought to make them by my mom and this is the way we make them in Romania.
We make a mixture of ground meat (usually pork and beef), rice (kept for about 30 minute to an hour in warm water - which almost cooks it), salt, pepper, paprika, fresh parsley and eggs to tie everything. We stuff the peppers and set them in a baking dish tall enough to be able to put extra sauce. We pour over the stuffed peppers some water and salt, we cover and cook until almost done. Then we prepare the tomato sauce (and we make a lot of it - that's the way I like it) from tomato sauce, water, a little of flour, celery leaves, one onion cut in 4, a little of sugar and we cook it until is thick. We pour it over the stuffed peppers (after they are almost cooked and the water has evaporated almost completly) and we return the dish to the oven for another 20-30 minutes (again covered).

 

[Caine]

I ALWAYS parboil my peppers before stuffing, and one of my all-time favortie stuffings is leftover jambalaya.

 

[Barb L.]

I haven't made stuffed peppers in years, but when I have, I always used everything raw. Put in baking dish and bake 350 for 1 1/2 - 2 hours in sauce . My mom did it this way too! Mom used tomato soup w/1/2 can water, made the best gravy over mashed potatoes. Now I gotta make some - droolin' lol !

 

[Dove]

I do or did..mine like Katie. Paul loved peppers. Raw or cooked..

 

[licia]

My mother never used rice in hers and I don't either. I usually use a really good pork sausage. I parboil the peppers (halved longwise) and saute the onions and celery. I then put it all together with an egg and a few bread crumbs just to combine. By using the pork sausage I don't worry about more seasoning. Also it doesn't take as long to cook sliced in half since the meat mixture isn't as deep, I like them hot or left over cold. DH adds a bit of chili sauce to his.

 

[lovetocook07]

I never cook my ground round or rice when making stuffed peppers or cabbage. Mix the ground round with the uncooked rice, one egg, and seasonings and stuff peppers. If I run out of peppers I make meatballs and than layer everything in a large dutch oven, add a can of V8 juice, diced tomatoes, a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, some more seasonings and cook slowly for about an hour or until the meatballs are cooked through.

 

[VegasDramaQueen]

I always cook the ingredients together for about 5 minutes or til the meat is browned, then drain the skillet and fill the peppers. You don't have so much grease floating in the peppers that way. BTW, if you want a fabulous presentation, try using a combination of red, yellow and green peppers. It really makes a beautiful dish.

 

[rbmccleary]

Chipotles, I really like your recipe. I'm going to try that.

 

[Essiebunny]

I never precook anything when making my peppers. I use ground round, raw rice, grated onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and an egg. I stuff the raw peppers and top with tomato soup and water. I used to cook on the stove, but now make them in my slow cooker. That way, there's no scorching and the peppers keep their shapes.

 

[SurvivorGirl]

I never precook anything when making my peppers. I use ground round, raw rice, grated onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and an egg. I stuff the raw peppers and top with tomato soup and water. I used to cook on the stove, but now make them in my slow cooker. That way, there's no scorching and the peppers keep their shapes.

one question, could you sub tomatoe soup out for tomatoe sauce or some such thing?

 

[Katie H]

You could sub tomato soup, SurvivorGirl, but tomato soup is a bit sweeter than tomato sauces, etc.

 

[SurvivorGirl]

You could sub tomato soup, SurvivorGirl, but tomato soup is a bit sweeter than tomato sauces, etc.

good point. thx!