J is for: Jalapeño Poppers {a Tailgate Special}

Jalapeños, bacon, and cream cheese. What more do you need?

My dad has a few “signature” dishes that constantly get requested at family gatherings. Among them: artichoke dip, baked beans, chili, and jalapeño poppers. I love them all.


It being “J week” and all, I decided to make the poppers for my tailgate blog. But instead of roasting them in the oven, I thought they would be great on the grill…making them perfect for a tailgate party.  Spicy, cheesy, and smoky all rolled into a single bite.

(**UPDATE 1/1/13: Most of the Authentic Eats links on the website seem to be broken, so I’m posting the original recipe here).

For that very reason, along with my addiction to kitchen gadgets, I decided to get this jalapeño corer from Williams-Sonoma at the recommendation of my friend Kim.

Unfortunately, the peppers I bought were too small for the corer, so I had to improvise. Next time, I’ll buy bigger peppers and I think this would work great!

Instead, I sliced the jalapenos on one side, taking care not to slice them all the way through. Then I cleaned out the seeds and membranes…and I found a grapefruit spoon to be extremely useful here. Note: you might want to wear rubber gloves when handling the peppers. Some people are really sensitive to them, but for some reason they don’t bother me at all. (Just don’t touch your eyes!)

Put the whipped cream cheese in a plastic bag with a hole cut in the corner and “pipe” it into the peppers. 

Close them up and wipe off excess cream cheese with a clean paper towel. Next up: the bacon!

Starting at the top, wrap the bacon around the pepper, and secure with a toothpick that has been soaked in water for at least five minutes. (The reason you don’t see toothpicks in this photo is because I was out of toothpicks and didn’t have time to go to the store. I made it work without them, but it would definitely make it a lot easier with them). If you are using the corer method, make sure to cover up the top of the pepper with part of the bacon strip so the cheese doesn’t leak out. (If making them for a tailgate, transfer to a large tupperware container or disposable aluminum pan and grill when you get to the stadium. Can be made the night before). 

Pre-heat grill to medium-high. Grill peppers, turning every couple of minutes to cook all sides of the bacon. This process will probably take around 20 minutes. (If you’re really serious about making these things often, they also make this handy pepper roaster).

Remove from grill, let them rest for a couple of minutes, pop one in your mouth, pass the rest around and watch them disappear!