Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: Makes 12 poppers
Source: Australian Pork Website
Ingredients:
6 rashers Australian dry cured streaky bacon
12 green Jalapeno peppers
12 x 5cm mozzarella cheese sticks
1 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup water
2 cups panko crumbs
Oil for frying
To serve
Ranch dressing
Lime wedges
Cooking Instructions:
- Cut the streaky bacon rashers in half.
- Using a sharp knife make a slit down each Jalapeño pepper from the stem to the tip and carefully remove the seeds.
- Insert a stick of mozzarella into each pepper and push to enclose. Wrap a piece of bacon around each pepper and secure with a toothpick.
- Combine the flour, paprika and salt in a small plastic bag and shake well.
- Beat together the eggs and water in a small large shallow bowl.
- Place the crumbs onto a large shallow plate.
- Place the stuffed peppers into the bag of flour and shake well to coat each pepper.
- Dip each pepper into the egg wash and roll in the crumbs. Repeat egg wash and crumbs steps to double coat.
- Heat oil to 170c and shallow fry peppers until golden. Remove and drain on absorbent paper, keep warm on a wire rack over an oven tray in a pre-heated oven 150c. Dust with a sprinkling of sea salt.
- Serve hot with ranch dipping sauce and a wedge of lime
Notes: Mozzarella cheese can be replaced with cream cheese or Gorgonzola cheese.