Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Directions

1. Since we will be using fresh jalapeños, and a lot of them, to make our bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers, I strongly recommend that you wear some latex gloves while preparing the peppers to be stuffed and popper-fied. In recipes where you’re only using only one or two jalapeños, you can probably get away with bare-handing it, but we’re working almost two dozen peppers in this case so do yourself (really, your eyes and your privates) a favor and wear gloves. The chemical component in spicy peppers, capsaicin, will linger on your finger tips and provide an oh-so-displeasing burning sensation wherever your fingers happen to come in contact with your body.

2. Now that we’ve covered the safety basics, let’s start prepping our jalapeño poppers. Set out the cream cheese and feta on your counter while you work with the peppers to let them warm up and soften a bit more. This will make them a lot easier to mix together a little later on. Rinse and dry the peppers and then cut each pepper in half length-wise. Once all of your peppers are halved, take a small spoon and scrape out the seeds, ribs and pith from the halves and discard.

3. Mince the two cloves of garlic and put them into a small mixing bowl. Add the cream cheese and feta to the bowl as well and mix together using a fork. It will likely be a little awkward and slow-going at first, but the cheese will be easier to handle as you go and you’ll ultimately be able to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

4. Using a knife or kitchen shears, cut the bacon into halves or thirds depending on how long your bacon is and/or how much you like bacon. I waver on this myself, but you can use thirds as a recommended starting point but if you feel like need a little more porky goodness, maybe next time do halves. Regardless of your preference, cut the bacon and set out on a plate or cutting board.

5. We will now set up our assembly line to make the jalapeño poppers. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with tin foil or a silpat and set out near your station along with the peppers, cheese mixture and bacon. If you are using tin foil, lightly spray the foil with cooking spray or grease it with butter. Grab a jalapeño halve and use a small spoon to scoop a little bit of the cheese mixture from the bowl and stuff it into the open “cavity” of the pepper. A tip is to leverage one side of the pepper to scrape the cheese off of the spoon and then use your thumb or the back of the spoon to spread evenly within the pepper. Be careful not to overstuff the peppers, though, as once they are in the oven the cheese will melt a little bit and can leak out of the peppers. Lastly, take a piece of bacon and place one end of it under the pepper and then wrap over the top (the stuffed side) and have the other end of the bacon finish on the bottom of the pepper. The ends will basically fuse together under the pepper in the cooking process and will make them look good and easier to handle for your guests. Repeat this step under all peppers have been stuffed with the cheese mix and wrapped in bacon.

6. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes, rotating the sheet trays halfway through, or until the bacon is browned and crispy and the peppers are softened. Carefully remove the poppers from the trays and arrange on a platter. Allow the jalapeño poppers to cool for 5 or so minutes before serving.

Side note: These little buggers actually freeze quite well. If you want to make a big batch or save some for later, or if you want to give yourself a head start to an upcoming party, once you have cooked them in the oven, let them cool completely and then freeze them. They will stay good for a couple of months, but not much longer. To reheat, simply let them defrost overnight in your refrigerator and then reheat them in a a 350 oven for approximately 15 minutes or until they are warmed through.