These grilled poppers are an absolute favorite in my house. We make them as a side to almost any grilled meal we make. They are a GREAT appetizer for dinner parties and entertaining as well. They are also super easy to make.
Ingredients:
- 1 dozen medium size jalapeños
- 1 package Sharp cheddar cheese sticks
- 1 pound bacon
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
Equipment:
- Pepper Roaster pan
- 24 Toothpicks
- Jalapeno Pepper Corer or Paring knife
Directions:
- Wash the jalapeños and then cut off the top of the pepper-when you make the cut make sure to cut about a third of an inch off the top. This opens up the pepper enough for you to get your knife inside. Carve out the insides, making sure to get out most the seeds and the guts of the pepper- while trying to preserve the integrity of the walls of the pepper.
- Next, place a cheddar cheese stick into each pepper, breaking off the end of the stick that it too long to fit in pepper. Fit as much cheese in the pepper as you can without it poking out the top.
- ok, now you’re ready for the bacon. Use bacon that’s fridge temp or close to. If it’s already up to room temp it can be difficult to work with. Take a strip of bacon and wrap around each cheddar stuffed pepper, using a couple toothpicks on each one to keep the bacon pinned on tightly.
- Place each pepper in a hold on the pepper rack and then place the rack on a cookie sheet.
- Take your maple syrup and drizzle over the peppers, aim for the bacon and the holes on top where you pushed the cheese in.
Cooking The Peppers:
I personally 100% prefer to cook these peppers on a charcoal grill. To me it adds to the over all taste and keeps the whole process a little less messy. But you can easily do this in you oven as well, and I have done so many times during inclement weather.
Pre heat your grill to anywhere from 350F to 400F and place the peppers in your grill (if using oven place the cookie sheet under the rack to catch bacon grease and syrup) Each batch tends to be a little different but plan for this to take between 30-40 minutes, when the cheese is melted, the bacon is crispy to your liking and the peppers looks cooked through- pull them out. Let them stand for 5 min and then EAT!!
These peppers actually reheat very well for leftovers, just pull the toothpicks out once they are completely cooled and refrigerate.