Kiolbassa Smoked Meats Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
Sponsored Post: This post is sponsored by my friends at Kiolbassa Smoked Meats. Enjoy!
I love bacon, and I’m not just saying it to say it. Every morning I cook breakfast, and it always includes bacon. The style of the eggs may change, but the bacon remains the same. I’ve even gone as far to cure and smoke my own bacon. It is that serious of a relationship.
When my friends at Kiolbassa Smoked Meats asked me to come up with a recipe for their Dry Cured Bacon, I leaped at the opportunity. For starters, we are talking bacon. Secondly, it’s Kiolbassa bacon, and third, I had the perfect use for it: Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers.
If you are used to generic grocery store bacon, Kiolbassa Dry Cured Bacon will be an out-of-body experience. Every thick slice is a perfect mixture of fat and meat, smoked with just the right amount of hickory. For my daily cooked breakfast, the slices render perfectly, leaving just the right amount of fat to fry or scramble a few eggs. However, the bacon’s best use is these poppers.
Poppers contain three food groups: dairy, vegetable, and meat. For this reason, I do not consider them just an appetizer, but an entire meal. Also, it’s hard to have only one.
By removing the seeds and ribs from the jalapeños, the heat is slightly reduced. Add in the creamy spiced cream cheese filling and the bacon wrap, and each popper is a delightful treat, ping-ponging tast ebuds from spicy to salty to sweet. The wafting smoke from the cherry chunks on the grill bring it all together.
Bacon is more than breakfast, and Kiolbassa’s Dry Cured Bacon is the perfect ingredient for this indulgent grilled appetizer or in my case, meal!
Kiolbassa Smoked Meats Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
Servings: 4
6 jalapeño peppers
6 strips Kiolbassa Dry Cured Bacon
2 tablespoons BBQ rub
¼ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 ounces cream cheese
Accessories:
Cherry wood chunks
Gallon size freezer bag
Slice each jalapeño in half lengthwise.
With a spoon, remove the seeds and ribs.
In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon BBQ rub and the cheeses.
To make a piping bag: stuff the cheese mixture into a gallon freezer bag and seal. Using a pair of scissors, cut off a corner of the bag.
Using the piping bag, fill each jalapeno half with the cheese mixture.
Slice each strip of bacon in half lengthwise.
Wrap each cheese-filled jalapeño with a cut bacon slice.
Sprinkle the remaining BBQ rub over the bacon-wrapped jalapeños.
Prepare a grill for indirect medium-low heat, 200° to 250° F.
Place the wood chunks directly on the coals and close the lid.
Once the chunks begin to smoke, place the jalapeños over indirect heat.
Grill for approximately one hour or until the bacon has rendered.
