Jalapeno Bacon Cheese Egg Rolls

**AWARD WINNING**  These egg rolls won first place in the Shamrock Farms 2016 Football Food Throwdown.

…now I’m just being silly.  Jalapeno, bacon and cheese in egg roll form?  Yep, and they’re crazy delicious.  So delicious that Ryan plowed through four of them promptly upon completion of their photo shoot.  Seriously, he has never hovered so intently.

These were created specifically for a contest being run by the fabulous folks over at Shamrock Farms.  The challenge was to use one of their dairy products in a rockin’ Game Day recipe.  I use their original cottage cheese in the egg roll filling in order to create some texture, making them the ultimate cheese-filled party bite.  Why are they perfect for Game Day?  They are hand-held, a perfect pairing to your celebratory beverage of choice, and for the party host, can be made ahead of time and reheated right before kickoff.

Never made egg rolls or fried at home?  No, I don’t use a fancy fry machine.  All you need is a pot of hot canola oil on the stove and a few simple techniques.

(Full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.)

Here’s how easy these are to make.  Watch and learn:

It took me a few rounds to get these little lovelies perfectly crispy.  I was fixated on the texture of the ones from my favorite Phoenix Chinese restaurant (love you, Jade Palace).  After some trial and error and a good bit of research, I unlocked the magic.  Two things to keep in mind:

1. Moisture: moisture is not your friend in an eggroll.  Any excess moisture from the fillings will give you a soggy roll.  Whether you’re stuffing with traditional cabbage and pork or you’re doing this rendition with cheese, jalapenos and bacon, make sure to dry off anything that could be overly wet.  For example, the jalapenos were canned and came in juice.  I measured out the amount I needed then put them in a paper towel and squeezed the excess juice out.

2. Fry time: make sure to fry the eggrolls long enough.  That was my first big mistake in the first round of testing this recipe.  I waited until they were light golden and then pulled them.  Instead, these little babies need to bathe for 45 seconds to a minute, getting to a deep golden brown.  I constantly turned them to make sure they didn’t get burned anywhere.  You’ll know when they’re done because they’ll start making a new popping sound from where the oil is getting through to the cheese…that’s your signal to pull your perfectly fried eggrolls out of the oil.

*Original recipe by Joanie Simon (joaniesimon.com)

*Recipe created for a contest for Shamrock Farms

Jalapeno Bacon Cheese Egg Rolls

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• Author: Joanie Simon

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Description

Cheese egg rolls filled with mozzarella, cottage cheese, jalapeno, and bacon.

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Ingredients

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• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Shamrock Original Cottage Cheese 4% milkfat
• 1/4 cup diced jalapenos (or green chiles) well drained
• 1 lb bacon chopped and crispy fried
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 21 egg roll wrappers
• frying oil (vegetable or canola)

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Instructions

1. Combine mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, jalapenos, bacon and garlic powder in a bowl and mix well.
2. Place 1.5 – 2 Tbs of the cheese mix in the middle of an egg roll wrapper. Pull up the bottom 14 up over the filling, fold in the sides and roll up. Wet the inside seam in order to make it stick.
3. Heat oil to 365F in a large pot. You want enough to cover at least 3/4 of an egg roll when one is dropped in. Once the oil is hot, place egg rolls in 2 or 3 at a time, constantly turning so that they get an even browning. Fry for long enough that they get a deep golden brown and pull them as soon as they start to change to a louder frying sound, meaning the oil has reached the cheese.
4. Serve hot.
5. *To reheat, place egg rolls on a baking sheet in the oven for 6 minutes at 375F until re-crisped and cheese is melty.

• Category: Appetizer
• Cuisine: Super Bowl