Start off by cutting the tops off of the jalapenos.

Next remove the membranes and seeds from the inside of the jalapeno with a jalapeno corer or an apple corer.

Rinse out the remaining seeds from the inside of the jalapenos.

Mix up a filling for the jalapenos.  For this one I used 2 blocks softened cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of Jay’s BBQ Rub.

Using a pastry bag, fill the jalapenos with the stuffing, making sure they are completely filled and there is no air pockets.

Top off the jalapenos with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. I like to use center cut bacon. I use half a slice for each jalapeno.

Place on the grill using medium indirect heat. I  usually grill the jalapenos for approximately 1 hour and the bacon is completely crisp.

I made another batch of these great appetizers, but with a different cream cheese mixture.

Ingredients:

1. 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
2. 12 jalapenos, cored
3. 6 slices bacon, cut in half
4. 1 tablespoon Jay’s Mexican Rub

Mix in the rub with the cream cheese and let the flavors bind in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.  Then make the jalapenos like normal.  See Stuffed Jalapenos for more detail instructions.

As many are aware stuffed jalapenos are my absolute favorite appetizer.  Tonight, I was given the opportunity to make it for a few people that are new to this great and wonderful appetizer.  I pulled them off the grill about 10 to 15 minutes before we started playing a euchre tournament.  And all 20 of them were gone before we even started with only about 4 or 5 people out of the 11 people eating them.  Like usual they were worried about the spiciness, but they were pleasantly surprised about the lack of spice that were in the jalapenos.  The key to reducing the spice is making sure to get all seeds and membranes and grilling offset for at least 1 hour.  I actually had these on the grill tonight for about 1 hour and 45 minutes due to timing issues.  I made two different types of fillings, one a garlic cream cheese mixture and another a roasted red pepper and green olive mixture with cream cheese. 

Garlic Cream Cheese:

• 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Mix the two ingredients together and place back in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Roasted Red Pepper and Green Olive Cream Cheese:

• 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup roasted red peppers, diced
• 1/4 cup sliced green olives

Mix the three ingredients together and place back in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Additional Ingredients:

• 24 jalapenos
• 12 slices bacon

Instructions:

Remove all seeds and membranes from the inside of the jalapeno, the use of a jalapeno corer makes this extremely easy.  Rinse the jalapenos out with water to make sure all seeds are rinsed out.  Place cream cheese mixture in a zip lock type bag and cut one of the corners out and squeeze the cream cheese out into the jalapenos.  Cut the slices of bacon in half, and top each jalapeno with a 1/2 slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.  Grill with indirect heat that is around 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Eat and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos Ingredients:

• 2 packages cream cheese, softened
• 30 jalapenos
• 15 slices of bacon, cut in half

BBQ Bacon Stuffed Jalapeno Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef, browned and fully cooked
• 2 C shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 1 bottle BBQ sauce
• 25 jalapenos
• 13 slices of bacon, cut in half

Instructions:

1. Mix together the ground beef, mild cheddar cheese, and BBQ sauce together in a bowl
2. Remove tops of jalapenos and using a jalapeno corer or potato peeler, remove the core and seeds of the jalapenos, removing as much as possible
3. Rinse the jalapenos of all seeds
4. Place desired filling in a plastic bag with one of the bottom corners cut off
5. Squeeze filling out of plastic bag into jalapenos
6. Top each jalapeno with a 1/2 a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick
7. Grill with medium indirect heat until bacon is completely crisp and the jalapeno is fairly soft, approximately 45 to 60 minutes
8. Let cool and serve

Results:

Stuffed jalapenos are my favorite appetizers, so of course I am going to say these turned out great.  Even though it was a tough grilling day here in Iowa.  As many of you are aware we are having some major flooding in Cedar Rapids, and the rain this past Thursday sure did not help things.  Every time I tried lighting my charcoal grill the rain came pouring down.  Unfortunately the rain forced a lot of the people out of their offices and to their homes before all routes were cut off or to try and prevent flooding inside their house.  But many of the co-workers that tried them, had a lot of complements, which is always good to hear.  There were probably about 10 of us eating them, and all 55 were ate up pretty quick.

Ingredients:

• 1/8 C Chopped Pulled Pork (try not using the outside bark of the pulled pork)
• 2 t Mexican/Fajita Seasoning
• 1/8 C Shredded Cheese (I like a good Mexican cheese from the specialty cheese section at the grocery store)
• 2 8-inch flour tortillas
• Butter/Non Stick Spray
• Guacamole
• Chunky Salsa

Instructions:

1. In a skillet over high heat, heat up the pulled pork with the Mexican/Fajita seasoning until pulled pork is cooked through out
2. Remove juices from skillet
3. Let skillet cool down to a medium heat
4. Assemble quesadilla by placing pulled pork and cheese on one tortilla and and topping off with second tortilla
5. Apply butter or non stick spray to skillet to get a nice crisp tortilla without burning
6. Place quesadilla in skillet and let cook for 2 minutes, then flip over and let cook for another 1 or 2 minutes
7. Serve with Guacamole and Salsa

Results:

Tastes great and has a good combination of smoked BBQ flavor with a good Mexican flavor.  As a variation and if you have the grill already going, try to grill these up, maybe with a little bit of wood chips, a definite good way to add additional flavor.

Ingredients:

Instructions:  Mix together Green Onions, Cream Cheese, and Shredded Cheese in a bowl. Remove tops from jalapenos and remove the membranes and seeds from inside (Really easy with a jalapeno corer). Place Cream Cheese Mixture in a pastry bag or plastic bag with a tip cut off. Stuff each jalapeno full of the cream cheese mixture. Cut the slices of bacon in half and place over the top of each jalapeno and secure with a toothpick. Grill over indirect heat for approximately 1 hour or until bacon is crisp on a jalapeno grill rack (or you can just place them on the side, and just rotate them on a regular basis-every 15 minutes).

Note: Longer you grill, the more heat removed from the jalapenos, but make sure you use indirect heat or you will have major flare ups.

Results:

As many people know stuffed jalapenos are one of my favorite appetizers.  Once the majority of the heat is removed from the jalapeno, you are left with a great flavor of just the jalapeno.  This is about one of the simplest recipes you can do with jalapenos, but still very tasty. 

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. Package Cream Cheese
• 8 Large Jalapenos
• 8 Slices Pre-Cooked Bacon
• 1/2 cup Chipotle Shredded Cheese
• 1 T Old Bay Seasoning

Preparation Instructions:

1. Remove tops of jalapenos and slice in half lengthwise and remove all seeds and membranes (be sure to keep track of the halves that go together).
2. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and Old Bay Seasoning.
3. Add the shredded cheese to the cream cheese mixture and mix well.
4. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into each jalapeno half and put the halves back together.
5. Carefully wrap each jalapeno with a slice of bacon to hold the 2 halves together (may use a toothpick to hold the bacon to the jalapeno).
6. Place each jalapeno flat on the BBQ cooking grates (or preferably in a Jalapeno Pepper Cooker)

BBQing Instructions:

1. Prepare BBQ for indirect grilling with a good amount of charcoal and prepare to cook at a high temperature (around 350^oF), if desired add a handful of wood chips of your choice.
2. Once the BBQ is ready, place the jalapenos on the grill.
3. If you laid the jalapenos flat on the grill, rotate them every 5 minutes.
4. Remove the jalapenos from the grill once the bacon is fairly crisp (took about 30 minutes this time).
5. Let cool for a few minutes before eating.

Variations:

There are endless variations of what you can do with the stuffing for this recipe.  Add in a little bit of cooked meat (ex.  Pulled Pork, Brisket, Cocktail Weenies, Shrimp…), try different spices, cheeses, and different flavored cream cheeses.  You can also make smaller versions of these by slicing the jalapenos in half vertically and horizontally, and wrap a small piece of bacon around each quarter of a jalapeno and lay flat on the grill.

You can also use the non pre-cooked bacon, but you should get it cooked slightly before preparing the jalapenos or plan on leaving the jalapenos on the grill for a longer period of time.

Do a search for Stuffed Jalapenos or Atomic Buffalo Turds and you will find numerous different recipes to try.

Results:

Normally in the past I had always used regular bacon, not pre-cooked.  I think I will go back to regular bacon in the future.  It grabs hold of the jalapeno a lot better then the pre-cooked bacon.  I ended up using toothpicks to get the bacon to stay on the jalapenos this time.  They tasted pretty good, but a bit too salty.  Probably could have reduced the Old Bay seasoning in half, maybe even drop it down to a teaspoon.  The pre-cooked bacon was very crisp, but the pre-cooked bacon was also a lot more salty.  The chipotle shredded cheese was excellent and would recommend that for a lot of Mexican dishes involving shredded cheese.

Next Time:

Next time I do these; I probably will use a complete seasoning mixture all together and use regular bacon.

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