Fried Jalapeno Popper Boats Recipe: I am a huge fan of jalapeno poppers but am utterly disappointed almost every time that I have them. So I decided to ditch the frozen foods section and take this recipe in house, and boy am I glad I did! The good news is that I cannot put into words how amazing these popper boats are, the bad news is that I am completely ruined from having these any other way.
I used a sausage, cream cheese and cilantro stuffing, but you can easily sub in chorizo for the sausage or even chicken, beef, steak or simply leave the meat out altogether. The key is in how you prepare the boats before putting them in the oven. Getting a nice coating that sticks when fried will go along way. Also, I fry them before baking so that the jalapenos are not stiff and over-crunchy. You want the crunch to come from the coating.
I like to allow a flour and milk coating to dry on the jalapenos before applying the breading. This is a two step coating process that will make your jalapeno poppers fry perfectly. See the diagram below for how to prepare these for the oven:
Don’t be afraid to mount the filling either, it will hold its shape during the cooking process.
And because the seeds are removed from the jalapenos, these poppers are not super hot. You can also prepare the poppers the night before and simply pop them in the oven right before you are expecting guests. This makes it a very convenient recipe.
Live to Eat!
- 12 Large Jalapenos
- ½ Cup Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Pepper
- ¼ Teaspoon Paprika
- ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne
- ½ Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
- ¼ Cup Milk
- 8 Oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
- ½ Pound Sausage (casings removed)
- ¼ Cup Cilantro (chopped)
- 1½ Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Quart Peanut Oil for Frying (sub vegetable if allergies)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat oil in a large pan for frying.
- Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise and then remove the seeds an insides with a spoon to create small boat like shapes.
- In a bowl add the flour, salt, pepper, paprika and Cayenne and mix together well.
- In another bowl pour the milk for dipping your jalapenos.
- In a third bowl add the bread crumbs.
- Dip the jalapenos in the milk and then roll in the flour - set aside to dry for 10 minutes.
- While the flour coated jalapenos are drying - Brown the sausage in a small pain (5-7 minutes)
- In a separate bowl combine the browned sausage, cream cheese and chopped cilantro and set aside. (you want the sausage in very small pieces so if it sticks together during browning then chop with a knife before adding to bowl).
- After the flour coated jalapenos are dry, take them and dip them again in the milk and then roll in the breadcrumbs - set aside. (no need to dry).
- Fry the coated jalapenos for 2-3 minutes until golden brown (they cook super quick!).
- Once fried, place the jalapenos on a greased baking sheet.
- Evenly distribute the filling into each boat, you can pile them high (they will keep their shape when baking).
- Top each jalapeno with a layer of cheese and bake for 7 minutes.
- Serve Immediately.
