HomeCookbook Appetizers Southwestern Egg Rolls

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Southwestern Egg Rolls
Posted in : Appetizers, Poultry, Vegetables on
by : ChefLars
Tags: , , , , , ,

A Little Personal History:

1st experienced at our local Chili’s, everyone loved them. So I decided to do a little experimenting and here’s what I came up with. Now we save a trip to Chili’s and a little money to boot.

Description:

 

Categories: Appetizer
Servings: 4
Time: – Preparation:   40 minutes
– Marinade:        4 hours (chicken)
– Refrigeration:  4 hours to overnight (freezing egg rolls)
– Cooking:         20 minutes
Equipment: Measuring cups and spoons, cutting board and knifes, grater, 3 small bowl, 1 medium bowl, basting brush, BBQ grill, large skillet, wooden spoon, small damp cloth, toothpicks, large plate, plastic wrap, large saucepan or frying pot, frying thermometer, slotted metal spoon
Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken breast halves; marinated, grilled & diced
  • Buttermilk Marinade
  • 2 Tbs red bell pepper; minced
  • 2 Tbs green onion; minced
  • 2 Tbs jalapeño peppers; diced
  • 2 Tbs frozen spinach; thawed and drained
  • ⅓ cup frozen corn kernels
  • ¼ cup Spicy Black Beans
  • ½ Tbs fresh parsley; minced
  • 3 teaspoon Cajun Blast seasoning (2 teaspoon for filling, 1 teaspoon for grilling chicken)
  • 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese ; shredded
  • 4  (7-inch) flour tortillas
  • 6 cups + 2 Tbs canola oil (1 Tbs when grilling chicken, 1 Tbs for sauteing filling, 6 cups for frying egg rolls)1 cup Avocado-Ranch Dipping Sauce
  • 1 cup Pico de Gallo
  • 1 cup Guacamole
  • 2 Tbs tomato; chopped
  • 1 Tbs onion; chopped

Procedure:

  1. Marinade chicken breast in buttermilk marinade for four hours.
  2. Mince bell pepper, green onion; set aside in small bowl.
  3. Dice jalapeño peppers, mince parsley; add to a medium bowl.
  4. Measure corn kernels, black beans, spinach, 2 teaspoon. Cajun seasoning; add to medium bowl and set aside (“fillings” bowl).
  5. Shred cheese; set aside in small bowl.
  6. Make avocado-ranch dipping sauce per instructions. Transfer to small bowl you’ll use to serve.
  7. Preheat BBQ grill to high heat.
    Brush chicken breasts with some canola oil then grill it on barbecue for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until done. Lightly sprinkle each side of chicken with 1 teaspoon. Cajun Blast seasoning while it cooks. Set chicken aside until it cools down enough to handle.
  8. Dice cooked chicken into small pieces and add to medium “fillings” bowl.
  9. Preheat 1 Tbs. canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red pepper and onion to skillet and sauté with wooden spoon for a couple minutes until tender.
  10. Add chicken/fillings bowl to skillet. Saute for another 4 minutes; stir well so spinach separates and is incorporated into mixture.
  11. Remove skillet from heat and add cheese; stir until cheese is melted.
  12. Wrap tortillas in a moist cloth and microwave on high for 1 ½ minutes or until hot.
  13. Spoon approximately ¼ of fillings mixture into center of a tortilla. Spread evenly across tortilla. Fold in ends and then roll tortilla over mixture. Roll tortilla very tight, secure with a toothpicks (sides & bottom) to hold together. Repeat with remaining tortillas until you have four egg rolls.
  14. Arrange egg rolls on a plate, cover plate with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
  15. When ready to fry and serve egg rolls, chop tomato, onion and garnish on top of dipping sauce. Seal and refrigerate till ready to serve.
  16. In large saucepan or frying pot, preheat 6 cups of oil to 375° F (use frying thermometer – if you don’t have one, medium-low – medium is a good bet).
  17. When oil is hot, but not smoking, deep fry egg rolls for 12-15 minutes and remove with slotted spoon to paper towels or a rack to drain for about 2 minutes. Remove toothpicks.
  18. Slice each egg roll in half diagonally lengthwise and arrange on a plate around bowl of avocado ranch dipping sauce.
    1. As additional side dipping sauces, include Guacamole and Pico de Gallo.
  19. Serve immediately

Advanced Preparation:

  • Note: Because 4 hours is needed to marinade chicken and another 4 hours to overnight needed to freeze egg rolls before frying, I usually get all the prep work (up through Step 14) done at least a day before I’m actually going to serve these appetizers.
  • Step 1 needs to be done at least 9 hours (4 hours marinade, 4 hours freezing egg rolls, plus 1 hour prep/cooking time) in advance of actually serving dish. Breast can be prepped days or weeks in advance if frozen after marinating. In this case, at least six hours in advance of serving dish, thaw and continue with remaining steps.
  • Steps 2 – 5 can be done day of preparing egg rolls, sealed and refrigerated till chicken is ready to be grilled.
  • Steps 6-7 can be done day of preparing egg rolls, sealed and refrigerated till ready to make filling.
  • Steps 8-14 can be done day of preparing egg rolls, sealed and frozen at least four hours before frying and serving (as mentioned, I prefer to do everything up till this point at least a day in advance of serving)
  • The fact the egg rolls need to be frozen before frying. The entire preparation can be done weeks in advance and frozen till ready to fry.

Tips, Notes, and Variations:

  • The purpose of using a grill to cook chicken is to give it the grilled texture. To fire up the grill just for two chicken breasts is often a bit of overkill. As such, I usually plan this dish, after we’ve been grilling chicken for another event and make sure I have at least two extra breasts left over. Alternatively, you can just cook the breast on a skillet, you just won’t have the “charcoal” flavor and texture.