Spicy "lil Smokie" Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

"Jalapeno with a juicy lil smokes, spiced cream cheese, wrapped in crispy bacon smothered in a sweet tangy bbq sauce. 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! (from BBQ Addicts)"
 
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photo by Nimz_ photo by Nimz_
photo by Nimz_
Ready In:
1hr 45mins
Ingredients:
8
Yields:
24 poppers
Serves:
12
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ingredients

  • 12 fresh jalapeno peppers
  • 12 slices bacon
  • 24 Little Smokies sausages
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • your favorite barbecue rub (or Cayenne plus Brown Sugar)
  • favorite sweet barbecue sauce (cut with cran apple juice)
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directions

  • 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!

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Reviews

  1. New go-to recipe for the holidays and get-togethers. These were SO good! Others are right, they don't keep really well because the bacon gets soggy, but fresh they are TO DIE FOR. I doubled the recipe and they were gone in no time. A little time consuming, but they're something you can make first and throw them in while you prepare other dishes since they take so long to cook. I made a sauce with BBQ and raspberry jam and it was the perfect combo of spicy and sweet goodness!
     
  2. These were the biggest hit of all my Christmas appetizers! I read the other reviews and took inspiration from the ideas of those who had made them before. First, I microwaved thick sliced bacon for 2 minutes after cutting each strip in half, then wrapped the poppers. As I inserted the toothpick in each popper, I placed it into a foil-lined baking pan. Once they were all in the pan, I pressed brown sugar on the top of each one- the fat from the partially cooked bacon made it easy to adhere. Last step was a good sprinkling of Tony Chachere's seasoning on each. I put them in the oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour, then raised the heat to 350 until the bacon was crispy and they were obviously done, about another 30 minutes or so in my oven. I made a dip with raspbery preserves, a little barbecue sauce and orange juice. They were ALL GONE in less than 5 minutes- spicy and DELICIOUS!! Thank you!!!!
     
  3. EXCELLENT! These are so good with just the right amount of heat for us. I halved the recipe for the two of us, wanting some left-overs for the week. I cooked mine for 2 hours in the oven at 250 and still didn't think the bacon was done. I didn't feel I could cook the pepper any longer thought without it being mushy (which it was a little) Next time I make these, I'm going to cook the bacon about a minute and a half in the microwave then wrap the pepper because I like the long cooking time and the way it caramelized the bar-b-que sauce. Thanks for sharing College Girl Made for PAC Fall 09 :)
     
  4. this is sooo good
     
  5. These little spicy treats are amazing and always a hit. I have passed along this recipe to quite a few friends and they love it as well<3 Thanks for sharing. Please add more if you have any:)
     
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Tweaks

  1. give me some
     
  2. this looks so good
     
  3. that look so nasty
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Hello world! I love cooking! Cooking helps me relax after a long day. I love entertaining for my friends and my cooking is my favorite thing ever. College student budget doesn't mean ramen! There are ways to keep it cheap. <img src="http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/tgifford/Game%20Room%20Banners/AM%20Banners/holidaybadge.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/PACsticker-Adopted.jpg"> Chef of the Day 11/05/09 <style>body { background: url("http://www.heathersanimations.com/backgrounds/ani/ye.gif"); background-repeat: repeat; } </style>
 
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