Dallas is in what seems to be our annual IceGeddon... Not much to do but fire up the smoker. Tonight's plate was Stuffed and Smoked Jalapeno Peppers and Lower Fat Stuffed Bell Peppers.
This is my first time with smoking peppers so I have some lessons learned. I had blanched the bell peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. That was key to a perfect edible pepper. I saved the tops for plating, not for eating. I should have blanched the jalapeno peppers as well. They were too crisp and too hot. I think the blanching would have neutralized some of the heat.
Recipes were simple, mostly letting the smoke flavor things. I chose Apple wood.
For the jalapenos, I used:
- a little less than 12 ounces of lowfat cream cheese
- 3 cooked turkey breakfast sausages, diced small
- 3 thinly sliced pieces of deli pastrami, diced small
- about a tablespoon of paprika
I cored out the jalapenos and washed inside and out thoroughly. This is where I should have blanched them to remove some heat and make them less crisp. I mixed the ingredients by hand and it was very messy. I stuffed them using the King Kooker jalapeno stuffer, which was equally as messy. Next time I will use a disposable cake piping bag for a lot less mess. Not sure why I thought the King Kooker was a good idea. Maybe I used it wrong. It is basically a funnel with a stick for shoving ingredients through the funnel.
I smoked for about 20 minutes.
The mix was great. The jalapenos were a little too crispy and hot.
Next up were the bell peppers. After cutting off the tops and removing the insides and seeds, I blanched them for 5 minutes in boiling water. I let them cool on a rack.
- Bell peppers
- 3oz shredded cheese
- 22 oz ground beef
- 16 oz ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 6 thin slices of salami
I smoked these in apple wood smoke for about 90 minutes at 225 degrees until the internal temp was 160 degrees. These came out with good flavor, but very dense. Next time, adding bread crumbs to the mix would lower the fat as a filler. I would also consider removing the cheese and put diced apples. I put the mixture (minus the salami) into the cooled bell peppers. I placed the salami slice on top to render a bit into the mix. I did not cook the pepper tops on the peppers, but rather cooked them separately and placed them on top when plating.
After:
This is my first time with smoking peppers so I have some lessons learned. I had blanched the bell peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. That was key to a perfect edible pepper. I saved the tops for plating, not for eating. I should have blanched the jalapeno peppers as well. They were too crisp and too hot. I think the blanching would have neutralized some of the heat.
Recipes were simple, mostly letting the smoke flavor things. I chose Apple wood.
For the jalapenos, I used:
- a little less than 12 ounces of lowfat cream cheese
- 3 cooked turkey breakfast sausages, diced small
- 3 thinly sliced pieces of deli pastrami, diced small
- about a tablespoon of paprika
I cored out the jalapenos and washed inside and out thoroughly. This is where I should have blanched them to remove some heat and make them less crisp. I mixed the ingredients by hand and it was very messy. I stuffed them using the King Kooker jalapeno stuffer, which was equally as messy. Next time I will use a disposable cake piping bag for a lot less mess. Not sure why I thought the King Kooker was a good idea. Maybe I used it wrong. It is basically a funnel with a stick for shoving ingredients through the funnel.
I smoked for about 20 minutes.
The mix was great. The jalapenos were a little too crispy and hot.
Next up were the bell peppers. After cutting off the tops and removing the insides and seeds, I blanched them for 5 minutes in boiling water. I let them cool on a rack.
- Bell peppers
- 3oz shredded cheese
- 22 oz ground beef
- 16 oz ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 6 thin slices of salami
I smoked these in apple wood smoke for about 90 minutes at 225 degrees until the internal temp was 160 degrees. These came out with good flavor, but very dense. Next time, adding bread crumbs to the mix would lower the fat as a filler. I would also consider removing the cheese and put diced apples. I put the mixture (minus the salami) into the cooled bell peppers. I placed the salami slice on top to render a bit into the mix. I did not cook the pepper tops on the peppers, but rather cooked them separately and placed them on top when plating.
After: