Texas Toothpicks

Introduce

Chef :

Angela

Texas Toothpicks

I never heard of these until I moved to the south. They are sliced jalapeno peppers and onions fried in a batter. They tend to be spicy. I wanted to try my hand at it instead of paying restaurant prices. This is my first try. I used a pre-made batter.

Ingredient

Cooking time :

20 mins

1 box

premade batter (or use homemade)

paprika to taste

garlic powder to taste

salt

pepper

cayenne pepper

1 bunch

jalapeno peppers (how many depends on the people you're trying to feed. I used 8 big ones feeding 2)

1/2

white onion (again, feeding two)

Cooking instructions

* Step 1

Heat a pan with oil on medium heat or medium high to 350°F. I used a stove top deep dryer.

* Step 2

Mix your batter and seasonings together. Keep in mind that the premade seasoning can taste saltier before frying.

* Step 3

Wear gloves and proceed to cut the stem end off and cut the pepper in half length wise. Take the gloved thumb and run it down the side, removing the seeds. Then cut each half again (length wise) getting 4 to 5 slivers from each half.

* Step 4

Do the same with the onion. You want to cut it in half (end to end) and then follow the lines on the onion for your slivers.

* Step 5

I threw it all in the batter. And at first used the basket with the dryer but they stuck to the bottom. So I then just took a spotted spoon and just spooned them into the batter free form. Then used a wired slotted spoon (specifically for frying and boiling) and took them out when they were golden brown. No more than a couple of minutes)

* Step 6

As you can see from the picture, my batter didn't stay on real well. So will try different things in the future and edit as I go. I am even going to try baking. Any positive comments or suggestions are welcome.

Note: if there is a photo you can click to enlarge it