Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

This recipe is from my good friend and mentor at Lockheed Martin. A very brilliant man, Steve could sell F-16s to a jalapeno popper if he wanted to. I'm not sure why anyone would do that, but he could nonetheless.  I take his advice on literally everything work related, and it turns out he's an expert in the kitchen as well.


Steve is the lucky owner of the Big Green Egg and is an avid smoker, griller, rib-and-steak maker. When he told me he had a bacon wrapped jalapeno popper recipe that was to die for (I don't think he used those words, they sound more like my own) - I believed him and knew I had to try it. These really are SO GOOD. When the F-16 production line ends I think Steve should just head on home and start his own Jalapeno Popper production line.


You will notice there is a significant improvement in picture quality and detail in this post. That's because Steve sent me his pictures, and they were so much better than my own that I stole them. Thanks Steve.


Recipe:

• 20 (or so) jalapeno peppers, sliced and seeds removed
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Bacon (same number of slices as jalapenos)
• Toothpicks, soaked in water

Here are the stars of the show. Beautiful, shiny, fresh jalapenos.

 Start by cutting them in half lengthwise.

Remove the seeds and cores, unless you want to burn your mouth off. I'm assuming you don't.

See, I knew I really liked Steve for a reason. He buys Wisconsin cheddar. The choice of champions, the only way to go.

 Place the jalapenos in a grill pan....

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and cheddar.

Then, you'll want to LIGHTLY cook the bacon and lay them out on a paper towel to drain a little of the fat. This was a very good tip - I think that if you don't cook the bacon at all prior to wrapping the jalapenos, they turn out far too fatty and soggy.  Let some of the fat soak out on the paper towel.

Now, let the stuffing begin!  Scoop the cream cheese mixture into the jalapeno halves....

These are not my hands.

Wrap a piece of bacon around each jalapeno, and secure with a toothpick. Yum...I want these to be done immediately.

Now, it's time for the grill. Unless you're fancy, like Steve. Then you would smoke them on the green egg. Since I just have a regular ol' grill, I placed these over indirect heat (setting at medium-low), and cooked them until the bacon looked done. I don't remember how long this took, but I'm guessing about 20 minutes. You could also put these in the oven at about 350-375 and bake them that way...but grilling is certainly more festive. Of course we live in Texas and it's still 65 degrees here.

And here we are, in the presence of Texas greatness...if you're still looking for a Thanksgiving appetizer, let this be it.

Thanks Steve, for this amazing recipe. Great work advice, great jalapeno advice, I'll take your rib advice next. Can we set up a mentoring session for that?