This is not so much of a recipe as it is a celebration of all that is good and right in the world of food. I give thee the jalapeño popper. I saw this recent post over at CookinCanuk.com featuring these spicy bites and instantly set out to procure the ingredients. Simply jalapeños, cream cheese and bacon. For real? These are only three of my top ten food ingredients, two of which are in my top 5. You can probably guess which two.
I think there is some type of magic that happens when you cook these up as the peppers become mild, the cheese loses a bit of its sharpness and the bacon becomes crispy as the fat melts onto and into the other ingredients. Who ever invented these was a GD genius! I cooked mine on the grill to get that smoky essence but you can cook them in the oven like the Canuk did. Pop, pop, poppers!
INGREDIENTS:
- 10 jalapeños, sliced in half and stemmed and seeded
- cream cheese, softened
- 20 slices of bacon (smoked is better, apple wood smoked is best)
PREPARTION:
Assemble as per the photo and either grill them over indirect heat or bake them on a cookie sheet in the oven at about 400°F until the bacon is crispy.
Makes 20
Heat Factor
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These are my and my boyfriend’s favorite special snack. I know that some people add more ingredients to their cream cheese mixture but I have found that just using these three ingredients is the best way to make these.
I must say that I’ve never tried to make these with smoked bacon. After using regular bacon for a while I switched to turkey bacon and I found that it gets crispier and holds together better.
Great, seeing this post makes me want to make some right now but I can’t! Soon, though. Soon.
Most of the time I par cook the bacon int he microwave for about a minute so it will crisp up better but nothing wrong with turkey bacon. As long as it ends with bacon, it has got to be good. Right?
I like to smoke mine on a weber gas grill with a packet of hickory chips at 225-250 for about 1 1/2 hrs replacing chips as needed (need to pre-cook bacon in microwave or turn grill up to medium high at end of cooking to crisp bacon). Also try bating poppers with maple syrup during final 1/2 hr. to add another layer of flavor.
@ChiliCheeseFry Making some of those tomorrow… can’t beat the stuffed jalapenos
via Twitoaster