Homemade Jalapeño Poppers
Packed with a spicy, cheesy filling, these roasted and fried jalapeños gain depth from charring under the broiler and a crispy crust from the bread crumb coating. This recipe first appeared in the 2012 SAVEUR 100, with the article Homemade Jalapeño Poppers.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp. canola oil, plus more for frying18 jalapeños
1½ cups (4 oz.) shredded cheddar
½ cup (2 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack
½ cup (1 oz.) finely grated Parmesan
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. ground coriander
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2. Trim ¼″ off the bottom of each jalapeño and, using a paring knife, scrape the seeds and ribs from inside the pepper and remove (or for spicier poppers, leave the seeds inside, if you like). Insert piping bag tip into each pepper, and pipe until cheese mixture fills the inside; refrigerate to firm filling, about 1 hour.
3. Pour oil to a depth of 2″ in a 6-qt. Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 330°. Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into 3 separate shallow bowls; season each with salt and pepper. Toss each pepper in flour, dusting off excess, and then coat in egg. Transfer to bread crumbs; toss until evenly coated. Working in batches, fry peppers until golden brown and filling is melted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain before serving.
1 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Arrange an oven rack 4″ from broiler and heat broiler to high. Toss together oil and jalapeños on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil, turning as needed, until charred all over, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, process cheeses, cream, mustard, cumin, coriander, cayenne, paprika, and salt and pepper in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a ⅛″ plain tip, and set aside.2. Trim ¼″ off the bottom of each jalapeño and, using a paring knife, scrape the seeds and ribs from inside the pepper and remove (or for spicier poppers, leave the seeds inside, if you like). Insert piping bag tip into each pepper, and pipe until cheese mixture fills the inside; refrigerate to firm filling, about 1 hour.
3. Pour oil to a depth of 2″ in a 6-qt. Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 330°. Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into 3 separate shallow bowls; season each with salt and pepper. Toss each pepper in flour, dusting off excess, and then coat in egg. Transfer to bread crumbs; toss until evenly coated. Working in batches, fry peppers until golden brown and filling is melted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain before serving.
- Roasting the peppers BEFORE you remove the seeds. The pepper becomes flimsy and if you wish to remove any seeds, you will tear the peppers apart, making them impossible to stuff.
- Using a paring knife to remove the seeds. The peppers are too soft to stand up to a knife.
- Not enough cream. I ended up using about 3/8 cup of cream to get the filling to a usable texture.
- Don't try to use peppers that are not still whole. They will disintegrate in the oil and you're left with fried cheese doodles (not necessarily a bad idea).
So, IF I decide to try this again some day, I will remove the seeds before roasting and I may also roast on the grill with no oil. I wouldn't recommend using this recipe as written. Unfortunately, I've not yet used a Saveur recipe where modifications weren't needed in order for it to turn out right. Very disappointing.
I honestly do not think that the editors had anyone attempt this recipe before printing. Like the previous reviewer, I am a pretty experienced cook and I hardly ever struggle with recipes. Here's what went wrong:
- Roasting the papers first = very bad idea. The pepper was very soft, and the paring knife just ripped it to shreds. At this point, I thought "this is not good" - but I carried on.
- I had to add close to 3/4 of a cup of cream to get even KIND OF CLOSE to a liquid for the filling. Again, I am thinking "this is not good" - but I carried on.
- I load the filling into my pastry piper - start to squeeze and the seam splits in half, filling exploding out. The filling is still too think. And now I am thinking "SERIOUSLY?!"
Needless to say, this is where I stopped, and everything went in the trash.
I'll never try this again. A waste of my time!