Hola SMF gang!
I wanted to share something I've been making at home for several years, and after a brief search, only found one thread that's similar, and that was by ChileRelleno here: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/258233/smoked-jalapeno-poppers.
This is about traditional poppers, smoked now that I have equipment to do so. I had fresh and canned jalapenos on hand, and I tend not to make fresh only, because once they hit the fryer oil, the heat really ramps up in them, and I like the brine taste from canned peppers as well. Smoked till slightly soft at 250 with other meats on there, missed the grill pics unfortunately. They were cored prior obviously, and as I believe Chile suggested, I find it easiest to use a simple peeler sharpened on the outside to core and cut through the ribs. I've mixed and match several cheese blends in these, and this is my favorite, cream, a little tang from the sharp cheddar and zing from the port wine cheese as an aftertaste.
I used more than I needed to for this amound of peppers so I'm adjusting the measurements as follows
4-5 oz of an 8 oz block of cream cheese.
1/2 of a 10 oz sharp cheddar cheese ball, I like the almond covered variety.
1-2 tblsps of port wine cheese spread, adjust to taste.
1/2 # smoked bacon, I used bacon ends, more off camera to the right, but it was 1/2 a lb total. If we aren't putting jalapenos in the bacon, we'd best put bacon in the jalapenos!
Put all the cheeses and bacon in a heavy ziplock bag or freezer bag and microwave in 20 second intervals kneading and mixing between just until the cheese is soft and warm so it will pipe well.
Snip off a small corner of the bag after squeezing all the air out of the top, and pipe your peppers full.
All finished with filling.
Next, and most importantly comes the wash and breading. We use a few eggs and splash of milk beaten for the wash, and we prefer italian style bread crumbs. Each one gets washed and breaded twice, then frozen, and when firm, back in the wash and breading two more times to ensure a VERY solid layer that will hold up in the fryer. Freeze again after the second two coats. If you cut corners here, you're likely to have all the cheese bleed out very quickly if they burst.
After freezing and rebreading twice more...
Deep fry them frozen at around 375-400 degrees until they brown nicely, 3-5 minutes. We rarely have any leak, but if they do, it bleeds out very slowly, so it's easy to find the culprit, and if it's leaking, it's done anyway. Of course if you over fry them, they will leak eventually so keep a close eye and go on color.
Fried and cut! (I only cut for the picture, normally, I just dip in sauce and devour whole en masse until my lips are burning)
If anyone has a go at these, I'd love to see the variations on it, and results as well! Forgive the sideways pics please, and thanks for reading!
I wanted to share something I've been making at home for several years, and after a brief search, only found one thread that's similar, and that was by ChileRelleno here: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/258233/smoked-jalapeno-poppers.
This is about traditional poppers, smoked now that I have equipment to do so. I had fresh and canned jalapenos on hand, and I tend not to make fresh only, because once they hit the fryer oil, the heat really ramps up in them, and I like the brine taste from canned peppers as well. Smoked till slightly soft at 250 with other meats on there, missed the grill pics unfortunately. They were cored prior obviously, and as I believe Chile suggested, I find it easiest to use a simple peeler sharpened on the outside to core and cut through the ribs. I've mixed and match several cheese blends in these, and this is my favorite, cream, a little tang from the sharp cheddar and zing from the port wine cheese as an aftertaste.
I used more than I needed to for this amound of peppers so I'm adjusting the measurements as follows
4-5 oz of an 8 oz block of cream cheese.
1/2 of a 10 oz sharp cheddar cheese ball, I like the almond covered variety.
1-2 tblsps of port wine cheese spread, adjust to taste.
1/2 # smoked bacon, I used bacon ends, more off camera to the right, but it was 1/2 a lb total. If we aren't putting jalapenos in the bacon, we'd best put bacon in the jalapenos!
Put all the cheeses and bacon in a heavy ziplock bag or freezer bag and microwave in 20 second intervals kneading and mixing between just until the cheese is soft and warm so it will pipe well.
Snip off a small corner of the bag after squeezing all the air out of the top, and pipe your peppers full.
All finished with filling.
Next, and most importantly comes the wash and breading. We use a few eggs and splash of milk beaten for the wash, and we prefer italian style bread crumbs. Each one gets washed and breaded twice, then frozen, and when firm, back in the wash and breading two more times to ensure a VERY solid layer that will hold up in the fryer. Freeze again after the second two coats. If you cut corners here, you're likely to have all the cheese bleed out very quickly if they burst.
After freezing and rebreading twice more...
Deep fry them frozen at around 375-400 degrees until they brown nicely, 3-5 minutes. We rarely have any leak, but if they do, it bleeds out very slowly, so it's easy to find the culprit, and if it's leaking, it's done anyway. Of course if you over fry them, they will leak eventually so keep a close eye and go on color.
Fried and cut! (I only cut for the picture, normally, I just dip in sauce and devour whole en masse until my lips are burning)
If anyone has a go at these, I'd love to see the variations on it, and results as well! Forgive the sideways pics please, and thanks for reading!
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