John Porterfield | Bandera EC

Warm and crispy from the oven, these potato rounds are fun to eat—and hard to stop eating—especially when they’re dosed with hot sauce. They can be made in advance and refrigerated up to two days.

2 pounds russet potatoes, baked, skins removed
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion tops
3 tablespoons minced jalapeño or serrano pepper, or more as desired for heat
4 strips bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
4 ounces butter cracker crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Mash skinned potatoes into pulp, then combine with butter, grated cheese, onion tops, minced pepper and crumbled bacon. Season conservatively with salt and pepper to taste. Form into golf ball-sized spheres and set aside.

3. In a shallow bowl, whisk together flour, Cajun seasoning and salt. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Place the cracker crumbs in a third bowl.

4. Roll potato balls in flour mixture, then egg mixture; repeat. After second round of flour-then-egg coating, roll balls in cracker crumbs, making sure they’re well-covered.

5. Place on a cookie sheet and bake 35–40 minutes until brown and crispy, carefully flipping the spheres once after 15 minutes.

Makes 20–24 poppers.

Cook’s Tip

If the potato rounds are not chilled before baking, they’ll be soft and somewhat malleable; a vented fish spatula is helpful for flipping them.