Jalapeno Poppers
Author: Derek Amato
Ingredients
- 1 pound of pickled jalapeno peppers
- 1 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup of cheddar cheese, shreadded
- ½ cup of monterey jack cheese, shreadded (you can also use pepper jack for this second cheese)
- 1 - 1½ cups of buttermilk
- 1 cup of flour
- 2 cups of panko bread crumbs
- Canola oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Drain the jalapenos from the juice, slice in half lengthwise, remove all of the seeds and ribs.
- Lay the jalapenos out on a paper towel and pat both sides well to dry as well as you can.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and other cheeses until well blended.
- Using a spoon, fill the large end of the pepper with a rounded spoonful and spread down to the small end, essentially forming the missing half of the jalapeno. Ensure that the cheese mixture completely fills the jalapeno.
- Set aside in a pan and continue until all of the jalapenos have been stuffed.
- Place the pan in the refrigerator for an hour or so to firm up the cheese.
- Pour the buttermilk, flour, and panko into 3 separate small bowls.
- Using one hand for the wet and one hand for the dry, dip the jalapenos into the buttermilk and then using the dry hand, dredge in the flour mixture until it's well coated. Tap off excess flour.
- Dip the jalapeno back into the buttermilk and then into the panko, being sure to coat well and applying a small amount of pressure to help the panko stick
- Set aside in a pan and continue until all of the jalapenos have been breaded.
- Preheat your deep fryer to 375 degrees.
- Place the peppers into the fry basket, stuffed side up, and lower into the fryer for 1 to 1½ minutes or until the first sign of cheese starts to escape
- Serve immediately with a dipping sauce of your choice.