I gotta tell ya – I love a good jalapeno popper. The mix of the spicy with the creamy is just so super good. While I do enjoy the deep fried variety – I also really like it smoked, and wrapped in bacon! And that is why my very favorite kind of popper – Smoked Jalapeno Poppers are a game changer! Speaking of games…these are the perfect game day snack too!
When you are picking your peppers for this, you want to use a little bit of care. Don’t pick ones that are too curved – it makes them hard to wrap with the bacon. If you want these to be really spicy – select peppers that have lots of little lines (they almost look like stretch marks). They are also called Heat Cracks and the more cracks you have the spicer the pepper is going to be.
As for the bacon -you really want to use a thick-cut bacon for this particular recipe. If you use a regular or thinner bacon, it will not hold up to the smoking and broiling. You can play with applewood or hickory smoked or peppered bacon as you like. Just make sure it’s on the thicker side of the bacon scale. This is smoker recipe – so it does require some sort of smoking unit. I, of course, love my Traeger for all my smoking needs. If you do not have a whole smoking unit – you can turn almost any grill into a smoker using a smoker box.
These are perfect as an appetizer at your next party or backyard bbq. They are also great for game day parties, showers and potlucks! I do like to have these with a little bit of ranch – like my Homemade Ranch – or you could got for a blue cheese dressing as well.
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Equipment
- 1 Smoker
Ingredients
- 12 Whole Jalapenos halved and seeded
- 12 strips Bacon, Thick-cut halved
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese finely shredded
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 200degF.
- In a small bowl, add cream cheese, shredded cheese, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Spoon mixture into each of the halved jalapenos. Then wrap each with a half of bacon strip. Secure with a toothpick.
- Add prepped poppers to an aluminum baking tray and cover with foil. Place in smoker at 200degF for two hours.
- Preheat broiler on oven.
- Remove poppers from the smoker and carefully transfer each to baking rack over a baking tray covered with parchment. Place in oven and broil for 5-7 minutes (until bacon is to desired crispiness).
- Remove toothpicks and serve.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!
Jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon are my favorite! I can only imagine how much better they are smoked!!!
can’t believe i never thought to smoke these! GENIUS!