Either way, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil. If you are using a broiler with separate “high” and “low” settings, preheat it to “high. ”
Place cut peppers on the prepared baking sheet cut-side-down.
Turn the peppers periodically so that the skins become evenly charred on all sides. When ready, the skins should be dark and bubbly.
Before serving, peel the skins off the peppers using your fingers. If you allowed them the steam inside of foil while they cooled, the skins should slip off with relative ease. [3] X Research source
Keep in mind that the size will determine how long the pieces will need to cook for. Strips, large bell pepper rings, and pieces that are over 1 inch (2. 5 cm) in size may need a minute or two more than small pepper rings and small chunks under 1 inch (2. 5 cm).
Frequent stirring is very important in this method. You do not want to burn the pepper skins or the pepper flesh, but if you let the pieces stay still for too long, the sections touching the pan are more likely to become charred.
For a quick side dish or a light lunch, you could toss the peppers with cooked rice and a drizzle of your favorite dressing—soy sauce, Italian dressing, and so on.
Spread a moderate amount of coals into a charcoal grill, light, and wait until the fire dies down and white ash forms on the coals. The peppers will be placed directly over the heat. For a gas grill, preheat the grill completely before reducing the heat to medium. Again, the peppers will be placed directly over the heat.
Leave the grill uncovered if you have a charcoal grill. Cover the grill if you have a gas grill, though.
If you steamed the peppers by wrapping them in aluminum foil as they cooled, you should be able to peel off the charred skins with your fingers, making it easier to serve the fire-roasted flesh beneath.
The salt helps to draw out the flavor of the pepper, but adding the salt before the water boils will increase the amount of time you have to wait before the water reaches a steady boil.
Keep in mind that larger pieces will take longer to cook than smaller pieces. No matter what size you use, you should at least try to keep the pieces consistent in size.
The peppers will ideally still have a little “crunch” to them, but the flesh should be notably softer than when the peppers were raw.
If you do not have a steamer, you could use a large stockpot and a metal/wire mesh colander. Just make sure that the colander fits onto the rim of the pot but that the bottom of the colander does not touch the bottom of the pot. Also make sure that the lid of the stockpot will still fit on the stockpot with the colander inside.
Keep the pieces consistent in size and shape to ensure even cooking.
The cover must stay on the pot during the cooking process so that the steam will remain trapped inside. If you lift the lid off too often, you will release too much steam, thereby increasing the amount of time the peppers will need to cook for.
Make sure that the pieces are even in size. Otherwise, if some pieces are larger than others, they may take longer to cook while other pieces will already be done or overcooked.
Most of the cooking action taking place results from the steam building up inside of the dish, so keeping the lid on is important in order to keep that steam trapped.
