BCP Fans love Hot Poppers, we know. Now they’re even better when you sub Lieber’s Duck Sauce for honey (thank you to reader, Hudis S!)
Here on BCP, we know you love your fire poppers. They’re perhaps the #1 most made recipe in Dinner Done. They’re so well loved, we know that you would appreciate even more versions, and so next came the even easier 9×13 One Pan Poppers (total game changer) as well as different flavor variations (that’s always fun) like Sticky BBQ Poppers and Chili Lime Poppers (a very trending flavor profile).
If you love classic fire poppers, you’ll love this easy way to make them even better.
The secret? Swapping Lieber’s Duck Sauce for the honey.
BCP Reader Hudis S. wrote to us:
“Spicy poppers…yum!! I often make poppers since my husband is a huge spicy fan. I used to make the sauce on the stove with brown sugar, hot sauce etc and waited until it boiled UNTIL BCP gave the easiest hack: simply mixing honey and hot sauce and no boiling! That version became my go-to easy dinner, and everyone was happy!…
“BUT NOW I just discovered an even BETTTTER version with the same ease. TRY IT! Frank’s Red Hot Sauce with Lieber’s Duck Sauce!
“It is next level. Way better than first recipe. It’s very important for the duck sauce to be Lieber’s. It’s smoother and has perfect sweetness and texture. I tried it with a different popular brand of duck sauce and it wasn’t good. You can do equal parts duck sauce and hot sauce, but I like to do it more duck sauce and bit less hot sauce (a personal preference, so it’s not too spicy). You’ll see, the resulting sauce has the Perfect texture and consistency. It’s more like takeout than the honey version.”
So, now it was time for BCP to test it out! We made our regular hot popper marinade.
Along the way, we learned that Lieber’s has a superior panko crumb too. It’s light in color and super crispy. We’ll be reaching for these again next time.
Now it was time to test the duck sauce + hot sauce coating and see what we thought!
Don’t they look great?
We found that equal ratios was quite spicy. 1/2 Cup Lieber’s Duck Sauce + 1/3 Cup Frank’s Hot Sauce was much better. But then we tried 2/3 Cup Lieber’s Duck Sauce + 1/3 Frank’s Hot Sauce and THIS was the version that all the younger kids loved the most! Everyone loved this version and we’ll definitely be making on repeat.
Reminder: You must bake your hot poppers on a hard (i.e. NOT disposable) baking sheet if you really want them to get the best crispiness.
Now, you might be wondering. What’s the different between Frank’s and Lieber’s Hot Sauce? We tried the sauce with both to see how the flavors compared. They’re both good–they’re just different. Lieber’s is more mild, so if you love the idea of hot poppers, but want less of a spicy kick, go for it!
Hot Poppers – Duck Sauce Version
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1 ½ lbs chicken cutlets, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- dash black pepper
- 1 cup Lieber’s Panko Crumbs
- 4 tbsp oil, divided
- oil spray
Sauce:
- ⅔ cup Lieber’s Duck Sauce
- ⅓ cup Frank’s OR Lieber’s Hot Sauce (see notes on differences above)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a bowl, combine egg, lemon juice, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Place the cubed chicken into eggs mixture, then mix to coat. Let sit 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 2 tablespoons oil on each pan and spread around.
- Coat chicken pieces in the crumbs. Lay on prepared sheet pans, making sure there is space around each one. Spray tops of chicken with cooking spray (alternatively you can flip pieces around in the oil, so both sides are coated in a thin layer of oil).
- Bake for 15 minutes until golden at the edges and ready.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine all sauce ingredients. Toss with hot chicken poppers.
Wow, this looks amazing!! Can’t wait to try!!
Thanks for this hack!!
Looks good! I have improvised the hot popper sauce to be honey, bbq sauce, and some hot sauce (more or less, how you like). This made it more of a hot honey bbq.
Great idea! We love poppers here too. Also love that duck sauce. So excited to try this easy combo:) thank you!
Was this sponsored by Lieber’s lol
Was just thinking the same lol
Their stuff happens to be amazing, and I like to buy their cornflake crumbs and Pablo crumbs. but I do like the golds duck sauce…:)
Sponsored. Lol. It’s fine just be honest.
Don’t know if it’s sponsored or not, but I have found a difference when using Lieber’s duck sauce in certain recipes. You can’t compare.
Can I do this with chicken on the bone?
So weird that people are assuming this is sponsored. BCP always says when a post is sponsored. I personally have brands that I prefer for certain items and find work better for my family or in certain recipes.
I agree. Liebers duck sauce and Golds are totally different sauces with different tastes and textures. Theyre both good for different things. Thank you for the amazing content as usual!!
You know I think them plugging just the duck sauce wouldn’t come across funny but once they also mentioned the panko crumbs it comes across a lot like a sponsored post!
Wow good idea! My husband also loves spicy poppers so I’m so excited to try it this way!!
But would still use Kellogg’s cornflakes crumbs as I usually do… nothing compares
I made this today
With liebers panko crumbs, that’s what I always use…
Only had another brand of duck sauce and franks hot sauce.
It was delicious!
I second the idea to use the liebers hot sauce so you get more of the hot flavor without the heat. I had to add more duck sauce so it wouldn’t be too hot.
Definitely going to become a regular…. Thanks!
What metal pan do you recommend
I wish that I can use more Liebers products, however their hashgacha isn’t sufficient for my husband. Please advise them that this i issue is holding a lot of potential customers back from using their products.
obviously sponsored if not they would use the high quality brands like gefen or hadar etc
Liebers is high quality. My family uses many of their products and we’re not the only ones who feel this way, as seen by other comments on this page.
I second this. Everyone is entitled to their preferences, but Lieber’s happens to be a top brand.
Thank you for posting such simple suppers that appeal to all ages! We used whatever duck sauce we had at home. This was a big hit! We all really enjoyed!
We made this tonight too!! It was perfect!
Used Franks red hot sauce and Liebers duck sauce, perfect amounts! It wasnt too spicy and had a much more nuanced flavor so it didnt taske like honey, Licked clean!
Do you pour the sauce after it’s baked?
Can i bake it with a cookie sheet? or needs to be a metal pan?
Can this be made in a 9×13?
i made the bcp 9×13 popper recipe and only used this for the sauce
Been making poppers weekly for years. Tried this and it was amazing! Tasted like take out poppers. The entire family loved it and voted it better than my old recipe. Thank you!
Made last night and we were shocked at how good this was!! I’m so excited for this new recipe:)
Made last night, and will def become a staple!!
Made these tonight, we were all shocked too! So cool how you found this hack, just when i thought poppers couldnt get better.
Also, love the idea of trying new ingredients to see how they will taste… Hudis s whoever you are, please post more recipes like this in the future!
Yes!! I agree, please post all of your ideas!! These were great!
I tried this recipe last night- it came out amazing! And literally took minutes to prepare! I keep raw breaded shnitzel nuggets in my freezer which I prepare in bulk so all I had to do was defrost, bake and pour on the sauce.
Thanks Hudis!
So good to hear!
Made this tonight was delicious!!! Kids and adults really enjoyed! Thanks for another amazing easy recipe! 🙂
Yay!
changed my life
This was a great idea! I don’t have Lieber’s duck sauce, so I used Gold’s chicken sauce (I think it used to be called Dip N’ Joy years ago), which has a smoother texture than their duck sauce but a similar taste. With Frank’s hot sauce, tasted just like restaurant poppers!