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a plate filled with jalapeño chicken drumstick poppers with ranch next to a fire
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Jalapeño Chicken Drumstick Poppers

These Jalapeño Chicken Drumstick Poppers are made with chicken drumsticks coated in potato cream cheese filling, breaded, then fried.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time3 hours
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 people
Author: Derek Wolf
Cost: $45

Ingredients

Chicken:

  • 6-8 Chicken Drumsticks skin off
  • 48 oz Chicken Broth
  • 12 oz Light Beer
  • 1.5 tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 1.5 tbsp Black Pepper
  • 1.5 tbsp Garlic Powder
  • Canola Oil as needed

Filling:

  • 2.5 cups Boiled Potatoes skin off but not mashed
  • 1 cup Plain Cream Cheese
  • ¾ cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 3 tbsp Diced Jalapeños

Dredge:

  • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 2 cups Panko Crumbs
  • 4 Eggs whipped
  • Frying Oil as needed

Instructions

  • Preheat your grill to 400F for direct cooking.
  • Lather your chicken in oil then generously season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once seasoned, add your chicken to the grill to cook for 2-3 minutes to develop a nice crust on the outside. Once that crust is developed, pull the chicken off and add a large dutch oven to the grill. Add your chicken to the dutch oven along with the chicken broth and beer. Cover and let the chicken braise until it is falling off the bone and tender (about 1-1.5 hours). When tender, pull the chicken meat off the drumstick bone and shred apart. Finally, clean off your drumstick bones thoroughly and set to the side.
  • Clean out your dutch oven and add back to the grill. Add some frying oil to the dutch oven (about 3-4” deep) and preheat to 350F.
  • As the oil preheats, add your shredded chicken to a bowl along with the boiled potatoes, cream cheese, ½ of the shredded cheese and the diced jalapenos. Mix together thoroughly. Next, take a drumstick bone and a small handful of the mixture and add it to one half of the bone like it's one half of a full chicken drumstick. Add a little bit of cheddar cheese to the center then cover up the other half with more of the chicken potato mixture. Repeat this for all the drumsticks making sure the mixture is firmly on the bone. Place all the drumstick poppers on a plate and set in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm.
  • Once firmed and the oil is ready, add one of the chicken drumstick poppers to a bowl of flour and cover it. Then, add the drumstick to a bowl with the whipped eggs and cover it in whipped eggs. Finally, add to a bowl with the panko crumbs and cover. Once fully covered, add the to frying oil and cook for about 3.5-4 minutes in total making sure to rotate if the drumstick is not fully submerged. Follow the dredging process for each drumstick popper and cook in batches. Once the drumstick poppers are done, pull off and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
  • Serve the Jalapeno Chicken Drumstick Poppers with some ranch or your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 1074kcal | Carbohydrates: 106g | Protein: 55g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 347mg | Sodium: 3450mg | Potassium: 1488mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1401IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 353mg | Iron: 8mg