Crumbed Poppers / Spicy Balls
Serves Makes 12–16Prep 25 minCook 5–7 minBy Michelle Hanlon
A make-ahead crumbed snack that can be prepared and frozen, then cooked when needed. Make them as stuffed jalapeño poppers or shape the filling into spicy balls.
Whole fresh jalapeños are not always available, so jarred whole jalapeños work well. Prepare these ahead of time and keep them frozen until you are ready to cook them.
Ingredients
- 250 g cream cheese
- 4 slices American hamburger cheese, finely diced
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
- Jalapeños, finely diced
- 1 tsp sriracha sauce
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- Dash of lemon juice
- Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 jar whole jalapeños
- Cornflour
- Breadcrumbs — preferably a 50/50 mixture of plain and panko crumbs
Method
- 1Mix the cream cheese, hamburger cheese, spring onion, cheddar, diced jalapeño, sriracha, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder and lemon juice together until well combined. Season with salt and cracked black pepper.
- 2Drain the whole jalapeños and pat them dry with paper towel.
- 3Using a small knife, carefully cut from the stem towards the tip to create an opening. Wash out the seeds and centre flesh, then pat dry.
- 4Fill each jalapeño generously with the cream cheese mixture and gently press it closed. A little filling rubbed around the outside can help the coating stick.
- 5Coat in cornflour and freeze on a flat tray.
- 6Once frozen, crumb following the Pantrix crumbing method: egg mixture followed by breadcrumbs. For poppers, use a mixture of half plain breadcrumbs and half panko crumbs.
- 7Cook from frozen in a deep fryer at approximately 170°C until golden and cooked through.
- 8For Spicy Balls: shape the cream cheese mixture into balls, coat with cornflour and freeze. Once frozen, crumb using the same process. They are best prepared ahead and cooked while still frozen. Store between sheets of baking paper to protect the coating.