Smoky Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers Food

BACON-WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Mix cream cheese and Cheddar cheese together in a bowl until evenly blended. Fill each jalapeno half with the cheese mixture. Put halves back together and wrap each stuffed pepper with a slice of bacon. Arrange bacon-wrapped peppers on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bacon is crispy, about 15 minutes.

BACON-WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut the cheddar into 24 small sticks that will fit inside the jalapenos. Stuff 1 cheese stick into each jalapeno half.
• Wrap the bacon tightly around the jalapenos, slightly overlapping. Arrange 1 inch apart on the rack, cheese-side up. Bake until the bacon is crisp, about 25 minutes.
• You can make these poppers up to 2 hours ahead and keep at room temperature. Reheat at 350 degrees F until hot, about 20 minutes.

BACON-WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, Cheddar, cilantro, salt, pepper and green onions.
• Fill each jalapeno half with a heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture. Wrap the bacon tightly around the jalapenos, overlapping slightly.
• Place the wrapped jalapenos, cheese-side up and spaced 1-inch apart, on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Transfer to the oven and bake until the bacon is crisp, about 25 minutes.

SPICY "LIL SMOKIE" BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• you'll first want to wash and trim the jalapeno peppers.Chop the stem off and slice the pepper lengthwise to expose the seeds and vein. Using a spoon, scrape out the white vein and rinse under water to wash away the seeds. The cream cheese will ultimately counteract the burn from the peppers, so leave a good amount of the inner membrane in tact if you want to feel the heat.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, paprika and cayenne pepper. Using a butter knife, or a pastry bag, fill each jalapeno half with a generous portion of the cream cheese mixture.
• Top each one of the jalapeno "boats" with a little smokey.
• Wrap each of the smokey topped jalapenos with a half slice of bacon, making sure that the seam is directly on top of the little smokey. Secure the wrap by inserting a toothpick straight down through the overlapping edges of the bacon all the way through the little smokey. Stop just short of going through the pepper though, that way the cream cheese doesn't leak out through the hole.
• Since bacon already contains a good amount of sodium, you'll want to season the buffalo poppers with a sugar based rub. A nice blend of brown sugar and cayenne pepper works great on these bad boys as well.
• Cooking the poppers is a matter of getting the bacon done to your liking. My preference is smoke at 250 degrees for about an hour and a half. At this point the bacon isn't overly crispy, but it's definitely cooked enough to be bite through. If you prefer a crispier bacon, then I'd suggest kicking the temperature up to 300 degrees for about an hour. You'll want to keep a close eye on the peppers though. If they overcook, then they'll loose their stability and your poppers will spill out all over your smoker.
• once your poppers are cooked to your liking, remove them from the grill to cool down a bit before serving. At this point I would typically top them with a generous helping of Barbecue Sauce cut with a little cran-apple juice, but this time around I happened to have a bottle of hot raspberry sauce. I used this sauce a few weeks ago on some pulled pork sandwiches and was pleasantly surprised as to how well the raspberry flavor melded with the smoked pork, but this blew the sandwich out of the water. The flavor of the smokey jalapeno matches perfectly with the sweet fruity sauce, and of course it's heat is in good company with the medley of peppers tasted in each bite. A spoonful of sauce on each popper and you can guarantee these tasty treats will disappear in no time flat!

BACON-WRAPPED JALAPEñO POPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cut a slit in each chilli from top to bottom and scoop out the seeds and white pith with a teaspoon. Mash the cheeses together with some seasoning and stuff the mixture into the chillis.
• Halve each slice of bacon and wrap a piece around each chilli. Cook for 35-40 mins until the bacon is crisp. Serve with your favourite dips and beware - some of the chillies will be spicier than others!