Jalapeño Poppers for the Weekend's Games

Since you may be throwing that Opening NFL Weekend party this weekend, I thought I'd share a recipe for a great appetizer.  Jalapeno Poppers get a bad wrap for being fiery and inedible by those with low tolerances for heat.

Now that's just not true.  Yes, there is some heat in a jalapeno, but if you take the proper care, you can de-fang them, leaving them spicy, but not intolerable.

A great deal of heat resides in the pepper's seeds and then inner white membrane.  Slice one open and you'll the majority of it all in one easy to remove package.  If you slice away where the white membrane connects to the pepper and throw that whole piece away, you'll make them edible for almost anyone.

The trick to a good popper is to ensure that there is an even coating on the whole pepper.  Make sure the entire pepper has the egg wash on it before you shake on the bread crumbs.  If there are gaps around the cheese, you could have a disintegration of the popper when it sits in the oil.  Small holes can happen and you'll have a small amount of leakage, as you can see above.  But anything noticable should have some extra bread crumbs pressed on them to close the gap.

Jalapeno Poppers

Make 20 poppers

Peppers and Filling
10 large jalapenos
12 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup bacon, crumbles into very small bacon bits (optional)

Breading
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups standard bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Slice the tops off of the jalapenos, then cut them in half.  Remove the seeds and as much of the white inner membranes as possible.  Mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, garlic powder and bacon bits (optional) in a bowl and stir until it's well combined.  Use a spoon to scoop some filling into each jalapeno, smoothing it out until it's level with the sides of the pepper.  Set them aside on a cookie cooling rack for the time being.

Pour the flour into one gallon ziploc bag.  Crack the eggs into a small bowl.  Add the eggs to the milk and beat them together.  Pour both types of bread crumbs into another ziploc bag and you'll have all of your dredzging stations ready./

At this point, fill a large saucepan or dutch oven with enough oil so it comes 1 1/2-2 inches up the side of the pan.  Place it over medium high heat until the oil reaches 300 degrees.  While you're waiting, coat the peppers.

Take one pepper and shake it in the flour until it has a light coating.  Drop it into the egg wash to coat it.  Finally move it to the bread crumbs bag and shate it until you have an even coat over the entire pepper.  Place the pepper back on the cooling rack to allow the crust to solidify.  Repeat until all the peppers are coated.

Add 4-6 peppers to the oil, making sure not to crowd the pan.  Cook them for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, then remove them to a cooling rack with paper towels beneath to catch the excess oil.  Continue until all of fried, then serve to the masses.  For a different taste, serve a little salsa for dipping. 

So when you need a batch of appetizers, fry up a bunch of peppers.