Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers AKA Snake Bites

Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers

Looking for a fun game day or barbecue party snack? These jalapeno poppers are SO delicious! Dubbed Snake Bites, they're a hollowed out jalapeno chilli filled with sweet chilli cream cheese and topped with garlic prawns, cheese and smoked paprika. They're a bit spicy, creamy and garlicky in one bite and they're totally moreish too! These are a pushy recipe Dear Reader!

These jalapeño poppers are so easy but they taste like you've gone to a lot of trouble and I would say when entertaining count of people have around 3-4 poppers per person. Jalapeños are a mild to hot chilli-one way to tell if a jalapeno is going to be hot is by the corking or fine light brown lines on the side of the jalapeno chilli. Most of the ones that you see at the supermarket are absent of those lines but you will occasionally see them. Jalapeños measure 2,500 – 8,000 on the Scoville scale compared to the Thai birds eye chilli at 50,000 - 100,000 Scoville units and a Habanero at 100,000 – 350,000 SHU.

How To Make these EASY Jalapeño Poppers Even Easier!

1 - Although jalapenos are comparatively mild, definitely use gloves when deseeding the jalapenos. It can be painful putting in things like contact lenses afterwards.

2 - You can use a cream cheese with sweet chilli sauce already mixed in.

3 - Make sure that your cream cheese is room temperature cream cheese as it makes it easier to work with.

4 - I put the cream cheese in a piping bag so that it was quicker to fill the jalapenos.

5 - I recommend using thawed from frozen raw prawns or shrimp as you will cut down a lot of time shelling them. You don't need to get the giant ones, just medium prawns will do as they will sit on top of the jalapeno (they do shrink a little).

6 - Don't like prawns? Try chopped bacon, barbecued chicken or mushrooms and garlic!

Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers

Love jalapenos? Try these recipes using jalapeno chillis: Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers, vegan shepherd's pie or these recipes using jalapenos in a jar BEST Maryland crab cakes, Jalapeno Potato Salad and Jalapeno Sour Cream Dip.

I first tried these jalapeno poppers at Valentina's daughter Katie's house. Like her mum she is a fantastic cook and she set these down on the table and I just wanted to eat all of them. They've got such a great flavour to them and they really hit all of the flavours-sweet, salty and garlic and the texture is wonderful with a slightly crunchy jalapeno and a creamy centre. She gave me the name Snake Bites and it suits them so well!

They're even delicious cold from the fridge but really come into their own when served warm (and they heat up very easily too). Sometimes when I see poppers on the menu at a restaurant I tend to not order them because I know how easy they are to make.

Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers

Monica and I recently visited a restaurant with a creative menu that we were both very excited about. It was a Japanese fine dining omakase restaurant. We arrived both excited and hungry. They sat us down at a nice table and we flicked through the menu.

"Should we try the $30 nigiri?" I asked pointing at the single piece of sushi topped with caviar. She nodded excitedly and we both giggled as if we were doing something naughty (and I guess a single piece of $30 sushi is sort of naughty!). We selected some sashimi, sushi and four nigiris. It wasn't a lot of food but because it was expensive we figured that it would be ok because it was lunch.

They brought out our sparkling waters but set these down with paper cups. We looked at each other, our eyes widening. This was an odd turn. And they were small cups, much like what you'd get at a dentist.

The sashimi came out and some of it was very nice. However one serve was incredibly stingy with tiny, oddly shaped pieces of fish. Then came the nigiri. It was a parade of the underwhelming with rice that fell apart. The wagyu topping was completely raw with cold, streaky fat. It was like eating raw bacon. We left both hungry, dissatisfied and poorer for the experience vowing never to go back. So while some menus look promising, they may not necessarily fulfil that promise!

So tell me Dear Reader, how often do you have terrible restaurant experiences? Have you ever made jalapeno poppers? Do you like the chilli level of jalapenos?

Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers aka Snake Bites

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An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 12 minutes

  • Oil for frying
  • 20 raw prawns or shrimp, shelled (I used frozen ones)
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 10 Jalapeno chillies
  • 200g/7ozs. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Smoked paprika

Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers

Step 1 - Heat oil in a frypan and add the prawns and garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika and fry until they just turn pink. Remove from the heat.

Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers

Step 2 - Slice jalapenos in half and remove seeds. Place the cream cheese and sweet chilli sauce in a food processor and whizz til soft and combined. Spoon or pipe into the jalapeno halves. Top with a single prawn and a teaspoon of parmesan on top of each popper. Sprinkle more smoked paprika and drizzle with a little oil. Place under a grill and cook until cheese has melted, 3-5 minutes will do.

Jalapeno Shrimp Poppers

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