BBQ Pork Stuffed Peppers

I have this serious problem with stuffing one food into another and then grilling it.  I've stuffed chicken, steak, apples, and even a hog's stomach.  However, of all the edible vessels used for grilling, bell peppers are by far my favorite.  

More often than not, peppers are my go to pork leftover helper.  I alluded last week to making extra pulled pork and freezing it.  When I do, a meal of stuffed peppers is always on my mind.  It's a great way to put a fresh spin on leftovers and most important, it's dead simple.

BBQ Pork Stuffed Peppers with Smoked Gouda and Bacon

By Another Pint Please

3 Bell Peppers

1 lb pulled pork (cooked, but not reheated)

3 strips of bacon, sliced vertically and cut in half.

6 slices of smoked gouda cheese

BBQ Sauce

When buying peppers, try to select ones relatively uniform in shape and size.  Slice the peppers in half, vertically.  However, before doing, figure out which sides will lie flat.  Once determined, make the cut keeping in mind a non-wobbly pepper is a good pepper.  Scoop out the seeds.

 Fill the pepper shells with equal amounts of pork.  Top with your favorite BBQ sauce.

Add a slice of gouda and criss cross the bacon pieces.

Pre-heat the grill to indirect medium.  Add the peppers and cook for approximately 30-40 minutes.

Although some prefer to parboil the peppers ahead of time, I prefer a slightly longer cook time allowing the grill to do all of the work.

When done, remove and serve.

Sure, I could scoop leftover pork out of a bowl, but it's ten times better to put the pork on something else.

It also eliminates my need to lick the bowl when done, as with the peppers, I'm eating the bowl.  You know, manners and all.

Next time you smoke pork, keep in mind the magical word "leftovers" and grab some peppers.  It's one of the easiest and tastiest things I grill.

Epilogue

With almost all the posts I put together, I take a lot of pictures.  When I do, I tend to like either the first shot or the last.  It's never one of the dozen or so images in the middle.  Since I like to shoot with such a shallow depth of field, a lot of times it is just getting the focus right.  Do I want to zero in on the bacon strip on the left, or the bacon strip on the right.  

Sometimes I try to set things up to actually show what I'm doing.  When Zoë is handy, I put her to work.  However, a lot of the times I'm running solo, so I either employ the tripod and a remote shutter or when really moving fast, the one-handed-left-fingered shutter squeeze.

Case in point, the shot of the squeeze bottle dripping BBQ sauce.  What you don't see is my right hand holding the bottle and my left hand cradling the 7D in a very awkward position.  While I can see the shot through the viewfinder, I have to guess where my right hand is when I squeeze the bottle.  The shot above was spot on.  The other 20, like the one below were not:

I was pissed at the time, but when I was reviewing the shot in Lightroom afterwards, I busted out laughing.  I just knew I had to explain it…and why there was so much "extra" BBQ sauce in all of the cutting board shots!

Well, that's Another Pint Please for you.  Warts and all.

Cheers…and go grill some peppers!