Smoky Jalapeno Poppers Food

SMOKY JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Put on your food prep gloves. Slice each jalapeno open lengthwise using a paring knife, then make a small crosswise cut at the stem end to form a T.
• Insert your (gloved!) fingertip through the top of the opening and gently wiggle the core loose, then remove. Rinse under cold water to remove any additional seeds. Pat dry gently with a paper or clean towel and set aside. Repeat with the remaining peppers.
• Combine the Cheddar, Asiago, cream cheese and smoked hot sauce in a large bowl until smooth and well blended.
• Gently nudge the cheese filling into each pepper with a spoon. To close the peppers, gently squeeze each one until it resembles its original shape. Don't worry if the peppers tear a bit, just squeeze them shut.
• Sift together the breadcrumbs, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a shallow bowl.
• Lightly beat the eggs in a second shallow bowl.
• One at a time, hold the peppers by the stems and dip them in the beaten eggs, letting the excess drip off, and roll in the breadcrumbs; dip in the eggs again and reroll in breadcrumbs. Set on a plate to dry slightly.
• In the meantime, heat 2 1/2 inches of the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F. Add three or four of the jalapeno poppers, making sure not to crowd your pan, and fry in batches until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on the temperature of the oil and adjust the heat as necessary so it stays steady.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate; season with salt. Repeat with the remaining poppers and serve immediately.

AIR FRYER JALAPEñO POPPERS

Steps:

• Working with disposable rubber gloves to protect your skin, halve each jalapeño lengthwise, slicing through the stem. Remove the seeds and white ribs with a spoon or small melon baller. Arrange the halves on a baking sheet rounded sides down. If any of the halves tilt sideways instead of standing straight up, slice a sliver of skin off the rounded side, making sure not to cut through to the cavity, so they sit level.
• Add the cream cheese and Cheddar to a small bowl and mix together with a rubber spatula until combined. Stir together the breadcrumbs and potato chips in a medium bowl.
• Divide the cream cheese mixture among the jalapeño halves, smoothing it down with your finger or the back of a butter knife so the filling is level with the top of the jalapeno, not mounded. (You may have extra filling depending on how large your jalapenos are.) Firmly press the breadcrumb mixture over the cream cheese to fully coat. Spray the breadcrumbs with nonstick spray.
• Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F and set to cook for 4 minutes. Arrange the poppers in a single layer in the basket so they're not touching, working in batches if necessary. Air fry the poppers without opening the basket to check on them. When the air fryer turns off, let the poppers sit in the basket for another 4 minutes without opening the machine. (this will allow the poppers to cool slightly and the cheese to set so it doesn't slide out-don't worry, it'll still be gooey.)
• Carefully open the air fryer basket and remove each popper with a spatula. Serve the poppers sprinkled with the bacon.

SMOKY BACON-WRAPPED JALAPEñO POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
• Add the cream cheese, smoked Gouda, Cheddar, chives, lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly until evenly combined.
• Divide the cream cheese mixture between the jalapeño halves, pressing to fill all the way to the top edge.
• Wrap a piece of bacon around each stuffed jalapeño so the ends of the bacon lie underneath. Place the wrapped jalapeños, stuffed-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the bacon is crispy and the cheese mixture is just beginning to bubble out from the top and bottom of the jalapeños, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

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!

SMOKY JALAPENOS

Steps:

• Cut a lengthwise slit in each pepper; remove seeds and membranes. Spread a teaspoonful of cream cheese into each pepper; stuff each with a sausage. , Cut bacon strips in half widthwise; cook in a microwave or skillet until partially cooked. Wrap a bacon piece around each pepper; secure with a toothpick., Place in an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until peppers are tender.

CAST IRON SMOKY BACON JALAPENO POPPER CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Place a large cast iron skillet in the oven while preheating.
• Chop/slice bacon, set aside.
• Chop/dice jalapenos, set aside.
• Shred cheese, set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl combine the vegetable oil, honey, eggs, yogurt and milk.
• Whisk well.
• In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients.
• Whisk to combine.
• In a medium skillet cook bacon-you want it cooked half way through, NOT crisp.
• Using a slotted spoon remove bacon, reserve bacon fat.
• You will want 3 tablespoons of fat. If you need to, add butter and melt it with the fat.
• To the dry ingredients add the bacon and jalapenos.
• Stir well to coat.
• Add the cheese to the dry ingredients.
• Stir well to coat.
• Add Wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
• Using a large spoon or spatula and stir to just combine.
• Remove hot skillet from oven.
• Pour in the fat and give it a good swirl to coat the bottom of pan.
• Scrape your cornbread mixture into hot, coated pan.
• Return to oven and cook for 40 minutes.
• Depending on your oven, you may want to give your cornbread the "toothpick" test at 35 minutes.
• Do test at 40 minutes. If the center is not cooked through cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until done.

SMOKY JALAPEñO PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Mix cream cheese spread and cheddar until blended; spoon into peppers, adding about 1 tsp. to each. Place on baking sheet.
• Pat sausage links dry with paper towels; place over peppers.
• Bake 10 min. or until heated through.

CHARRED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Halve and seed the jalapenos.
• Roast on a hot grill just until skins start to turn dark.
• Slice the bacon strips in half.
• Fill the jalapeno halves with cream cheese.
• Wrap halves with bacon and secure with a toothpick.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30 minutes or until bacon is done to your liking.
• Serve warm.

SMOKY MUSHROOM JALAPEñO POPPERS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to broil and arrange a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
• Lay a jalapeño on your work surface so that it sits flat without rolling. Make two cuts forming a "T" by first slicing down the middle of the chile lengthwise from stem to tip, then making a second cut perpendicular to the first about 1/4 inch from the stem, slicing only halfway through the chile (be careful not to cut off the stem end completely). Carefully open the flaps to expose the interior of the chile, and, using a butter knife or small measuring spoon, scrape the inside to remove the seeds and ribs. Repeat with the remaining peppers; set aside.
• Place the cream cheese, mushrooms, Gouda, and salt in a medium bowl, season with freshly ground black pepper, and mix until smooth and evenly combined. Transfer the mixture to a quart-size resealable plastic bag, cut one bottom corner off to make a 3/4-inch-wide opening, and squeeze the mixture into the chiles until just filled (be careful not to overfill). Insert a toothpick widthwise through each chile to secure the flaps and filling. Place the filled chiles on the prepared baking sheet in two evenly spaced rows of six.
• Broil for 4 minutes, rotate the pan, and continue to broil until the peppers are starting to char and the filling is browned and bubbly, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the oven, and remove the toothpicks if desired. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.