Armadillo eggs with blue cheese ranch dip

What's an armadillo egg? It's a jalapeño, stuffed with spicy cheese, then encased with a sausage blend, wrapped in bacon and roasted in the oven.

Armadillo eggs with blue cheese ranch dip. Credit: Comfort Food with Spencer Watts

• serves

  6

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  7 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Armadillo eggs

• 6-8 fresh jalapenos
• 1½ cups shredded aged cheddar
• 3 tsp chipotle in adobo sauce
• 142 g (5 oz) sausage meat
• 142 g (5 oz) pork mince (ground pork)
• 142 g (5 oz) beef mince (ground beef)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 tsp BBQ sauce
• 18-24 slices bacon

Blue cheese sauce125-170 g (4-6 oz) blue cheese

• 3 garlic cloves
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• Lemon juice from ½ lemon
• 1½ tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
• 1½ tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. For the armadillo eggs: Carefully hollow the core from each jalapeno, removing the seeds and stem.
3. Add shredded aged cheddar to a bowl and toss with chipotle in adobo sauce. Stuff inside each jalapeno pepper.
4. To a large mixing bowl, add the three meats, salt, freshly ground pepper, chilli powder, smoked paprika and BBQ sauce and mix to combine.
5. Roll about ½ cup of the ground mixture into a ball and pat flat; wrap around a stuffed jalapeno and form into an egg shape; wrap with 3-4 slices of bacon. Continue with each stuffed jalapeno.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature of the minced meat reaches 71°C (160°F).
7. For the blue cheese ranch: Add blue cheese, garlic cloves, buttermilk, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, finely chopped fresh dill, and finely chopped fresh parsley to a blender and blitz until creamy.
8. Serve armadillo eggs alongside a small dish of blue cheese ranch.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.