Yield: 30 large bites, or 60 small bites
These broccoli bites are a standout favorite and have a devoted following at many restaurants, Copeland’s of New Orleans in particular serves what they call their Bayou Broccoli appetizer. This recipe is a close facsimile of the original served since 1983 at the restaurant chain made famous by Al Copeland himself. I made these last night as part of Monique’s hosted Jewelry Party show, everyone loved them and now you can make them at home too! They are the perfect hot appetizer for any occasion, and keep well for pre-service storage in a low temperature warmer cabinet at around 145° F. Click on image.
The recipe ingredients call for finished product weights, for example, the one pound of broccoli florets is the weight after the blanching and chilling, not before the initial cooking steps. Same for the bacon, the one pound of bacon chopped is the specified weight after crisped and chopped, not before cooking. If the weights taken for the broccoli and bacon prior to the blanching for the broccoli or the crisping for the bacon, the resulting yields will be less and will ensure a different outcome in the final product. Just be sure that the broccoli and bacon are weighted just before added them to the cheese mixture in step 4 of the procedures.
| Ingredients | ||
| 1 | Lb. | Monterey Jack cheese, finely shredded |
| ½ | Lb. | Colby cheese, finely shredded |
| ½ | Lb. | Cheddar cheese, finely shredded |
| 1 | Lb. | Broccoli florets, (Approx 1 ¼ lb uncooked) |
| 1 | Lb. | Crisped bacon, (Approx. 1 ½ lb uncooked) |
| ½ | Tsp | Sea salt, fine grind |
| ½ | Tsp | White pepper |
| 2 | Cups | Seasoned flour ( 2 cups flour, 2 Tbsp Cajun Spice blend) |
| 1 ½ | Cups | Egg wash ( 3 to 4 eggs and 1 cup water whipped) |
| 2 | Cups | Breadcrumbs |
| 1/2 | Gal | Frying oil |
| Procedure steps | ||
| 1. | Combine and mix the three finely shredded cheeses into a large bowl. | |
| 2. | Blanch broccoli florets in boiling water. Remove from water and chill in ice bath to stop cooking. Drain well and then chop into ¼” pieces. Measure 1 pound of the prepared broccoli. | |
| 3. | Cook bacon in oven until crisp. Drain grease well and chop into ¼” pieces. Chill well. Measure 1 pound of chopped bacon. | |
| 4. | Combine the cheese, cooled chopped broccoli (1 lb) and cooled chopped bacon (1 lb) in a large container, again, being sure each item is cool to prevent lumping. Add the sea salt and white pepper and mix well. | |
| 5. | Larger sized portions will weight 2 ounces, for smaller sized portions weight them to 1 ounce each. Portion tightly using your hands to form golf ball size or smaller balls rolling each portion into a tight ball, then place on a sheet pan, cover and refrigerate for several hours. | |
| 6. | When ready for service have fryer ready with the frying oil and set to 350° F. Bread 6 broccoli balls in the flour, egg wash, then breadcrumbs and then deep fry until golden brown, or about 2 – 4 minutes. A small batch ensures they will get an even frying and maintain the fryer temperature for most home fryer models. | |
| 7. | Serve on a small round plate or platter with a side of Tiger sauce for dipping. | |
Tiger Sauce
Yield: 1 ½ cups
| Ingredients | ||
| 1 | Tbsp | Cajun Spice Blend |
| 2 | Tbsp | White vinegar |
| 6 | Tbsp | Horseradish, prepared |
| 1 | Cup | Mayonnaise |
| ½ | Tsp | Worcestershire sauce |
| Procedure Steps | |
| 1. | In a small bowl, combine the Cajun spice blend with the white vinegar until dissolved. |
| 2. | Fold in the prepared horseradish, mayonnaise and Worcestershire until well mixed. |
| 3. | Cover and store in refrigerator until ready for use. |
11 responses so far ↓
1 Jessie // Oct 6, 2009 at 4:00 pm
great appetizer! I think I would have these as a snack during the afternoon
2 sippitysup // Oct 6, 2009 at 4:06 pm
These just look addicting I can only imagine how quickly they got gobbled up. GREG
3 Caitlin // Oct 6, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Yum! These look like a great snack!!
4 lululu // Oct 6, 2009 at 7:52 pm
perfect tapa dish!
5 Alta // Oct 7, 2009 at 10:14 am
Wow, these look good! It’s unfortunate how battering and deep-frying vegetables makes them not-good-for-you! Yum!
6 Ryan Boudreaux // Oct 7, 2009 at 10:22 am
Good point Alta, in fact, I did test a couple of them in a 475-degree pre-heated oven and while they stayed intact, they did melt down a bit on the bottom pan contact surface. My worry was that the cheese would melt out of the breading, but this was not an issue. However, they did suffer on flavor, there is just something about deep frying that adds that certain taste element.
7 Cookin' Canuck // Oct 7, 2009 at 12:58 pm
What a fun way to eat broccoli!
8 Liz Marr, MS, RD // Oct 7, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Yum. I bet that would make any kid, no matter how picky, want to eat his/her vegetables!
9 patsyk // Oct 8, 2009 at 8:53 am
I have a hard time resisting anything fried… and it does count as a vegetable even when it’s covered in so much yumminess!
10 The Single Gourmet // Dec 11, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I wish I had some broccoli…these sound delish!
11 Martha A. Cheves // Dec 22, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I’ve eaten fried broccoli and love it but this sounds even better. Thanks for the recipe.