Okay, so first of all, that picture up there is not really what they look like, but I forgot to take a picture and so that’s the best free image I could find online. Still getting used to taking pictures of the food.
So. I decided to make these because, well, I love them, but for whatever reason I can never find them in stores. I’ve made egg rolls before, but not southwestern ones, but how hard could it be?
Turns out it’s not terribly difficult. It’s time consuming if you want to do it the way I did, but none of it is difficult. It’ll take a few hours to cook the chicken, and it takes a while to actually assemble the egg rolls, just stuffing them over and over. You’ll just be sitting in one spot so make sure you have a comfortable chair.
A note on the chicken: I made pulled chicken starting from chicken thighs, and the flavor is fantastic, but you can use a shredded rotisserie chicken or something as well if you aren’t in the mood. If you do that, you probably want to add all of my chicken seasoning to the stuffing. I think it’ll probably be too bland otherwise. You could also just make pulled chicken from this and use it for tacos and probably be quite happy.
Ingredients
For the chicken
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
1 tsp ground chipotle
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp mexican oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp kosher salt
For the rest
40-50 egg roll wrappers (varies, depends on how full you make them)
1 small green bell pepper, minced
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 14 oz can of corn, drained
6 scallions, minced
2 jalapenos, minced (options, if you like spicy)
3 cups shredded cheese (Cheddar works, but whatever your favorite blend of shredded cheese is works as well. The supermarket sells those packages of “Mexican cheese blends” which I’m pretty sure aren’t remotely Mexican but works really well in here)
1/2 tsp ground chipotle
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp mexican oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons lime juice
Small bowl of water (for sealing the egg rolls)
Directions
Okay. So, take all those spices for the chicken and mix them up in a bowl. Put the chicken in a baking dish and rub it all over with the seasoning. Cover the dish with foil and put it in the fridge overnight to let it dry brine.
The next day, heat your oven to 250 and pop the chicken thighs in the oven. Leave the foil on it, it’ll help keep them from drying out. Roast in the oven like that, low and slow, for 3-4 hours until it has an internal temperature of 175. I did this on a smoker, and I highly recommend that approach, but I also know most people don’t have a smoker.
Once those are done, remove them from the oven and put them to the side to rest. Chop up and assemble all the other ingredients for the filling, and combine them in a big bowl. Then pull the chicken (using a couple of forks) and add that to the bowl as well, as well as any juices that are in the bottom of the roasting dish. Mix everything up.
Now to stuff your eggrolls! Put an egg roll wrapper in the center of your work surface – you can work directly on the counter if you want, or on a cutting board if you prefer. Lay the wrapper down as a diamond pointing at you. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of filling into the center of the wrapper. Take the corner of the wrapper closest to you and fold it over the filling. Take the corners to the left and right and fold them inwards over the filling. Then, dip your fingers in the bowl of water, and run them over the final corner of the diamond before rolling the whole thing up. The water will help it seal shut.
I realize that might not be the clearest description in the world, so here’s a link to an illustration. Pictures worth a thousand words here.
Do that over and over until you’re out of filling. Air fry for ten minutes at 350, or bake until brown and crispy. If you aren’t eating them immediately, wrap individually in wax paper, then stuff them in a freezer safe bag before putting the in the freezer.
Really great with salsa verde or just by themselves. Enjoy!
eatbensmeat 