Please help, I've never made Jalapeno poppers and my son has requested them for the Super Bowl.

[MsBees]

He said that he and his friends get them when they go out to eat. I imagine they are eating the breaded and fried variety. I've seen these in the frozen food section. But when I mentioned the poppers wrapped in bacon that is what he wanted.

Do you think it is ok to stuff and wrap the jalapenos in bacon the night before cooking?

Also most recipes I've seen are just stuffed with cream cheese. Would Boursin work or is it too soft?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Terrie H.]

I do a mixture of cream cheese and cheddar and add a cooked shrimp to the stuffing before wrapping in bacon. Make sure you don't buy the thick cut bacon - you need the thin style. I love the surprise shrimp inside.

[Bada Bing]

Here's a Chow gallery from last year this time:

http://www.chow.com/galleries/93/jala...

[MsBees]

First I need to say I love your name :)

Secondly thank you

[Bada Bing]

Thanks in return for the sweet comment. Have a great weekend!

[Toomchtodu]

Make sure you wear protective gloves! Just sayin... ;)

[chileheadmike]

Halve lengthwise, scoop out the inerds, stuff with cream cheese and a little smokie. Wrap in a half slice of bacon and secure with a tooth pick. Put 'em on the smoker @ 250F for a couple of hours.
No need to precook the chile.

[MsBees]

All I need to do is buy a smoker :))))

[chileheadmike]

If you buy a smoker, get a deep fat fryer too.

A buddy and I were cooking these at the American Royal a few years ago. He brought his turkey fryer because he wanted to do fried pickles. Of course, everything went in. After more than a few beers everything can and will be fried. After we took these these things off the smoker, they went into the beer batter and into the fryer. Unbelievably good, and my heart survived.

[dbocking]

Pre-cooking is definitely a good idea. The way I do it is to do a quick pickle. Mix a 1/2 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt and 2 tbs vinegar with a pint of water. Bring it to a boil and pour it over the jalapenos. By the time the brine cools, the jalapenos will be cooked just enough. It's more work than just popping them in the microwave for a minute, but they taste great that way and will keep for weeks. Great on hamburgers too.

[MsBees]

That sounds like a great idea.

[jenscats5]

Wonderful idea!! I think I'll try that myself....thanks!

[Bryan Pepperseed]

Just wanted to report that I tried your technique yesterday and will no longer do my baked/broiled poppers any other way - Thanks for the tip!

[katecm]

With the caveat that I've never made this recipe, I've seen a lot of buzz about it and you might find that it is going to be more appealing for you to make - a jalapeno popper dip: http://www.closetcooking.com/2009/03/...

I don't see any reason why bacon can't be added!

[bear]

I saw that, too, katecm, and thought it looked great. I'm planning on making these from the same site. I like the idea of roasting the peppers and removing the skin, and then deseeding and filling. It sounds a bit tricky because they can fall apart, but I'll give it a shot.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2009/04/...

[MsBees]

I considered making those. LOL...but after frying 24 lbs of wings I don't think I will want to fry anything else. That recipe will be for another day.

[katecm]

Report back! I always check his blog, but rarely if ever make anything. It's usually not fully my style. But for Super Bowl recipes, he has a LOT of fun-looking options.

[bear]

Will do, katecm. I have the ingredients and unless something major comes up, that's part of my menu for tomorrow. I haven't made anything from his blog, either.

I'm making lots of little snacks, and no main entree. Hope that they are as tasty as they look.

[bear]

Well, these were really good but I'll tweak a few things next time. First of all, it doesn't call for seasoning the flour or the panko. I was rushing around too much and didn't really think about it, but they were definitely underseasoned. Also, I ended up using close to three eggs and at least twice as much flour and panko as called for in the recipe.

It was time-consuming roasting and skinning the peppers, but definitely worth it flavor- and texture-wise. The panko stayed crisp even after sitting around for a couple of hours.

[MsBees]

Although I agree the recipe looks great this is what my son requested

[darklyglimmer]

I've made poppers with Boursin. I thought it worked fine. I use this same basic method, although I've never used this specific filling:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/blue-che...

They're a little quick and dirty, maybe not what you're looking for, but they get the job done for us.

[MsBees]

Those look scrumptious

[denverkate]

I made these for a party a few weeks ago, and they were a huge hit. So good! Make sure you cook them long enough to get the bacon crispy:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j/

EDIT: Oops, I meant this recipe:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=9...

[BrittanyHound]

Will these reheat ok in microwave. I wanted to send a batch back to scool with son for the football and there is only a microwave in the dorm

[denverkate]

I realize this reply is coming too late, but just the same: we microwaved the leftovers the next day, and they were okay. The bacon wasn't very good. I definitely think reheating in the oven or toaster oven would be the way to go, if he had one.

[Perilagu Khan]

For the most delicious poppers what you need to do is slice the jalapenos in half lengthwise; remove the seeds; fill with a mixture of cream cheese, extra sharp cheddar, queso anejo and Mexican oregano; wrap tightly with lean, thinly sliced bacon; place on a grill rack on a baking sheet, and broil until bacon is crispy.

These are easily the best poppers I've ever tasted.

[MsBees]

Yummo

Do you use toothpicks to keep the bacon on?

[Perilagu Khan]

If you wrap them properly, there's no need for toothpicks.

I forgot to mention that you should seek out small jalapenos, and one third (one half at most) of a strip of bacon should be sufficient to wrap each pepper. You don't want to wrap an entire strip around each pepper or you'll wind up with an interior layer of bacon that is not fully cooked.

[viperlush]

<. You don't want to wrap an entire strip around each pepper or you'll wind up with an interior layer of bacon that is not fully cooked.>

When I grill bacon wrapped things I pre cook the bacon in the microwave just long enough to get some of the fat out and to avoid this.

[jenscats5]

I've never used Boursin myself, so not sure how it would work. I usually use Cheddar. Personally, I like the peppers themselves cooked a bit before stuffing - I find them too crunchy when only cooked once with the stuffing. I don't see why pre-making wouldn't work....

[MsBees]

Hi jenscats5

Precooking them sounds like a very good idea. How long and how do you precook yours?

Do you use just cheddar or cheddar mixed with cream cheese?

[jenscats5]

My husband doesn't like cream cheese & is vegetarian, so I just use Cheddar or the Mixed 3-cheese blend.

As for precooking, I usually microwave them just a bit to soften. I don't want them soft, but I don't want that hard, raw taste in the finished popper. HTH!

[MsBees]

Thanks jenscats5.

So if hubby is vegetarian I take it you don't wrap them in bacon. How long do you cook your vegetarian variety? The bacon wrapped ones seem to cook at 350 or 375 for about 20 to 30 minutes.

[jenscats5]

No, I don't wrap them in bacon - tho now I want to make a batch with the bacon! I only cook them until the cheese is melty, which doesn't take long - that is why I precook the peppers first.

[ssioff]

Here are some recipes. Also there is a handy dandy tool to take the seeds out. Bought one for my friend at our state fair last fall.

http://www.jalapenogriller.com/Recipe...