Tex-Mex Eggrolls are a labor of love, and I wouldn’t have chosen to make them if my daughter hadn’t specifically requested them to bring to the annual pool-party pot luck (you may remember last year’s contribution: Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese). Also – perk of being unemployed – I had the time to make them. I’ve made them before when I was working, but we had to be at the party at 6 PM, and they are best if you fry them just before serving, so I would have had to leave work early so that I be home to start cooking around 5 PM. Too hectic! If I were still working, I would have told Gwen “no, not for this party”, I’d make them some other time.
Confession – I had never attempted anything deep fried in my entire cooking life until I made these eggrolls for the first time. I admit that I was intimidated. Getting (and keeping) the oil the right temperature, the splatter, the grease, the oil! And, let’s face it – “deep fried” – isn’t that something we all try to avoid?
I’m glad I finally got over my fear, though, because the reward of these tasty, warm, chewy, yummy treats is totally worth it!
I fried up my first batch in a cast iron skillet with a manual candy thermometer that I found in my utensil drawer. I let the oil get to hot, and it busted the thermometer – oops. So, I decided to splurge and bought a fancy Thermoworks thermometer with a probe and a temperature alarm – it was money well spent as it totally takes the guess work out of the oil temperature, which is key for a crispy exterior with a warm, gooey interior.
My oil set up with my thermometer.
It’s best if you start the prep for these eggroll the day before. I cook the rice, and cook the sausage, so that they have time to cool. I read somewhere that it’s best that the ingredients are cold or cooled before deep frying, I’m not sure why that is, but I’ve followed that direction.
All the filling ingredients
After I get all the ingredients mixed, I refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.
By the way, this filling would be great for burritos or enchiladas.
Once the filling is done, I like to make the dipping sauce in advance also – I feel that the flavors need some time to meld. Also, since it has raw garlic in it, I feel that it helps to let the garlic mellow a bit.
The dipping sauce makes a lot, you’ll probably have leftover – this sauce is so yummy, you could use it on chicken or fish or even as a salad dressing.
When you are ready to fry up the eggrolls, set up your work area. I make and cook my eggrolls as an assembly line, but there is no reason why you couldn’t roll all the eggrolls before you even start frying, but what I’ve found is that there is a 3-5 minute gap while you wait for the oil to come back up to temperature, so you can be rolling during this down time.
If you have never rolled an eggroll or other rolls, then you can view this tutorial for step-by-step directions, but it’s really easy. The trick is to keep the filling away from the corners (more in the middle) so that you can fold them in without filling coming out. It’s like wrapping a submarine sandwich. After 2 or 3, you get into the groove.
I fry them 6 at a time, so I like to be at least 6 ahead. When I make them this time, I started around 5:10, and I was able to roll 12-15 before the oil got up to temperature, so I always had 6 ready to fry.
This recipe makes 30-33 eggrolls. I was able to roll them and fry them in about 40-45 minutes. To transport, I layered them in a container with paper towels between the layers. I left the container uncovered so as to not create steam or condensation. These are best when hot, but still very good at room temperature or reheated in an oven at 350 for 5-10 minutes to crisp up.
You need to make these! And invite me over to eat them 🙂
Tex Mex Eggrolls with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
Eggrolls
- 1 5-ounce package yellow rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound ground hot pork sausage
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 14.5-ounce can Mexican-style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 cups 8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 6 green onions finely chopped
- 1 1.25-ounce package taco seasoning mix
- 30 egg roll wrappers
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 4 cups peanut oil
Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce
- 2 10-ounce cans Mexican-style diced tomatoes (I use Rotel mild)
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves about 1 bunch
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- Garnish: finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions, using 1 teaspoon salt. Cool completely.
- Cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain well. Let cool.
- Stir together rice, sausage, black beans, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Chill filling for 1-2 hours or overnight.
- Pour oil into heavy Dutch oven; heat to 375 degrees F.
- Spoon about 1/3 cup rice mixture in center of each egg roll wrapper. Fold top corner of wrapper over filling, tucking tip of corner under filling; fold left and right corners over filling. Lightly brush remaining corner with egg; tightly roll filled end toward the remaining corner, and gently press to seal.
- Fry egg rolls, in batches, 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. Drain on wire rack over paper towels. Serve with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce. Garnish, if desired.
Cilantro Dipping Sauce
- Process first 5 ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
