Mexican Stuffed Peppers (Chiles Rellenos)

Roast the peppers:

Blacken the peppers over an open flame. When cracked and black, put into a paper or plastic bag (wait a minute for the peppers to cool if using plastic). Secure the bag and let stand for 30 minutes. Peel the peppers under running water. Make a slit lengthwise down the pepper and carefully remove the seeds.

Melt the lard in a pan and add the onions, green onions, garlic and ground beef. Cook over high heat until well browned. Pour off excess fat and toss in the thyme, parsley, cilantro and raisins.

Heat through and divide the mixture among half of the peppers. Secure with toothpicks and stuff the remaining peppers with grated cheese. Beat the beer into the flour and add the egg to form a batter. Let stand for at least 30 minutes, correcting the texture with an additional egg yolk or more flour.

Heat the oil to 350F. Dip each pepper into the batter allowing excess to run off. Fry the peppers until golden, drain well and serve one of each pepper per person.