KETO FRIED BACON JALAPEÑO POPPERS CHEESE BITES

A delicious take on my favorite stuffed KETO FRIED BACON JALAPEÑO POPPERS CHEESE BITES! These take a little more time but IT’S WORTH IT!
A simple recipe with a twist — instead of baking it, we’re going to coat it in crushed pork rinds & deep fry it! No need for panko here!

Prep Time: 1 Hour Cook Time: 10 Minutes Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Yield: 34

INGREDIENTS

For the filling:

• 16oz Cream Cheese (or Neufchâtel cheese)
• 10 oz Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
• 12 oz Bacon, fried and put aside
• 6-8 large Fresh Jalapeno Peppers – (blanched, seeded & chopped.)
• OR – (chopped and seeded)1/2 cup Canned Jalapeno Poppers.
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Optional: 100g Onions, caramelized (optional)
• Oil for Frying

For Dredging:

• 1– 2 cups of Crushed Pork Rinds
• 3 eggs, whisked

INSTRUCTIONS

Blanching Fresh Jalapeno Peppers:

1. Take a pot(large) of water and bring it to a boil and on the side, have a large bowl of ice water ready. For 5-10 minutes (or until tender), let the jalapeños boil and then quickly add them to the ice bath. This stops them from cooking. Use canned jalapenos instead and you can skip this step.

Caramelizing Onions (optional)

1. To pan, add ONE tbsp of oil (or bacon fat) on medium heat. Until they’re golden brown, add the onions and sauté. Add to cream cheese mixture.

Directions:

1. In a bowl(large), mix salt, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cooked bacon, onions, and chopped jalapeños.
2. Form into balls(1- 1.5″ inch). (don’t let the balls touch)Place on a baking sheet and chill for THIRTY mins.
3. Dredging & Frying — The mixture should be ready to be fried after THIRTY mins in the fridge.
4. Have TWO bowls ready — one with the whisked egg and the other with crushed pork rinds.
5. With the crushed pork rinds coat the chilled cheese balls and press them in gently.
6. Dip it into the egg mixture.
7. Then with pork rinds, coat it again and this time, make sure it’s completely coated. To make sure it sticks, press the pork rinds gently on the cheese ball.
8. Note: Place it back on the baking sheet if you are prepping this to cook later and cover it with plastic wrap and until it’s ready, let it chill in the fridge.
9. To cover the cheese balls, you can either use a deep fryer or a medium saucepan filled with enough oil. Drop the coated cheese balls (slowly!) in the hot oil, when the oil is hot enough.
10. Until golden brown, cook for about 8-10 minutes. Take it out and shake off the oil(excess).
11. Serve with Ranch Dressing!
12. Enjoy ????

NUTRITION

Serving Size: 1
Calories: 127
Sugar: 0.6
Sodium: 247.6
Fat: 10.4
Saturated Fat: 5.6
Trans Fat: 0
Carbohydrates: 0.9
Fiber: 0.1
Protein: 7.2
Cholesterol: 50.5