Barbecue Chicken Egg Rolls

Don't you just love Chinese food?  We order out a couple of times of month...those nights where there's no way I'm cooking.  We've all had them, right?  I always order an egg roll with my chicken and broccoli (my husband and I are such creatures of habit - we ALWAYS order the same thing) so I was extremely excited to discover that you can buy egg roll wrappers at the grocery store.   I've made Southwestern egg rolls many times and was actually planning on doing that again as a fun Saturday night appetizer (or dinner), when I realized that I didn't have any black beans.  Yea, I could have done without, but I don't think they would've been as good.  We LOVE barbecue chicken in my house...on the grill, as a sandwich, on nachos...you name it.  So, this is what I came up with.  They were scrumptious!!  Crispy on the outside and just that right amount of softness in the middle that is typical of a traditional egg roll.  

Definitely use your favorite or go-to barbecue sauce.  We love Sweet Baby Ray's, so tangy and such a great flavor.  Monterey Jack cheese would be great in these also; I used a Mexican blend with 4 different types of cheese and some taco seasoning mixed in.  I was horrible at rolling egg rolls until I took time to read the instructions on the back of the packaging...seriously?!  It's so easy.  So, you can read my instructions because I took them right off of the egg roll package, but there are pictures too, so definitely refer back to that once you're ready to roll em' up.  It's so fun!!   

 Makes 6-8 Egg Rolls

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

1/2 tablespoon spicy Montreal grill seasoning

1 tablespoon minced jalapenos

3/4 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

3-4 cups vegetable oil 

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the chicken and grill seasoning and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through, breaking up into smaller pieces as it cooks.  Once the chicken is done, add the jalapenos and saute for another minute.  Remove from heat and add cheese and barbecue sauce; stir until the cheese is melted.

In a medium, deep pot, add the vegetable oil (enough that the egg rolls will be completely covered) and heat between medium and medium high heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, start assembling your egg rolls.  Place each egg roll in front of you so it looks like a diamond and add about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture across the center.  Fold bottom corner over filling and roll snugly half-way to cover filling.  Tightly fold in both sides against filling and moisten edges of last flap.  Roll up and seal top corner, lay flap side down until ready to fry.  

Once the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees, add half of the egg rolls and cook until crispy and golden brown on the outside, about 5-6 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.  Repeat with remaining egg rolls.  Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.