These appetizers are sure to spice up just about any party.  They are very simple to make and you can get very creative with trying different ingredients in the stuffing. Always make sure you wear food preparation gloves when dealing with jalapenos. I have tried these a few times and finally had my first success this past weekend, so I decided to give them another go around now that I started this blog.  First few times I either received a nice jalapeno burn on my hands (not wearing gloves) or in my mouth (not removing enough of the seeds and membranes).  

Ingredients:

  • 3 oz. Package Cream Cheese
  • 8 Large Jalapenos
  • 8 Slices Pre-Cooked Bacon
  • 1/2 cup Chipotle Shredded Cheese
  • 1 T Old Bay Seasoning

Preparation Instructions:

  1. Remove tops of jalapenos and slice in half lengthwise and remove all seeds and membranes (be sure to keep track of the halves that go together).
  2. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and Old Bay Seasoning.
  3. Add the shredded cheese to the cream cheese mixture and mix well.
  4. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into each jalapeno half and put the halves back together.
  5. Carefully wrap each jalapeno with a slice of bacon to hold the 2 halves together (may use a toothpick to hold the bacon to the jalapeno).
  6. Place each jalapeno flat on the BBQ cooking grates (or preferably in a Jalapeno Pepper Cooker)

BBQing Instructions:

  1. Prepare BBQ for indirect grilling with a good amount of charcoal and prepare to cook at a high temperature (around 350oF), if desired add a handful of wood chips of your choice.
  2. Once the BBQ is ready, place the jalapenos on the grill.
  3. If you laid the jalapenos flat on the grill, rotate them every 5 minutes.
  4. Remove the jalapenos from the grill once the bacon is fairly crisp (took about 30 minutes this time).
  5. Let cool for a few minutes before eating.

Variations:

There are endless variations of what you can do with the stuffing for this recipe.  Add in a little bit of cooked meat (ex.  Pulled Pork, Brisket, Cocktail Weenies, Shrimp...), try different spices, cheeses, and different flavored cream cheeses.  You can also make smaller versions of these by slicing the jalapenos in half vertically and horizontally, and wrap a small piece of bacon around each quarter of a jalapeno and lay flat on the grill.   

You can also use the non pre-cooked bacon, but you should get it cooked slightly before preparing the jalapenos or plan on leaving the jalapenos on the grill for a longer period of time.

Do a search for Stuffed Jalapenos or Atomic Buffalo Turds and you will find numerous different recipes to try.

Results:

Normally in the past I had always used regular bacon, not pre-cooked.  I think I will go back to regular bacon in the future.  It grabs hold of the jalapeno a lot better then the pre-cooked bacon.  I ended up using toothpicks to get the bacon to stay on the jalapenos this time.  They tasted pretty good, but a bit too salty.  Probably could have reduced the Old Bay seasoning in half, maybe even drop it down to a teaspoon.  The pre-cooked bacon was very crisp, but the pre-cooked bacon was also a lot more salty.  The chipotle shredded cheese was excellent and would recommend that for a lot of Mexican dishes involving shredded cheese.

 Next Time:

Next time I do these; I probably will use a complete seasoning mixture all together and use regular bacon.