Smoky Jalapenos Recipes

SMOKY JALAPENOS

Steps:

• Cut a lengthwise slit in each pepper; remove seeds and membranes. Spread a teaspoonful of cream cheese into each pepper; stuff each with a sausage. , Cut bacon strips in half widthwise; cook in a microwave or skillet until partially cooked. Wrap a bacon piece around each pepper; secure with a toothpick., Place in an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until peppers are tender.

SMOKY BACON-WRAPPED JALAPEñO POPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
• Add the cream cheese, smoked Gouda, Cheddar, chives, lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly until evenly combined.
• Divide the cream cheese mixture between the jalapeño halves, pressing to fill all the way to the top edge.
• Wrap a piece of bacon around each stuffed jalapeño so the ends of the bacon lie underneath. Place the wrapped jalapeños, stuffed-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the bacon is crispy and the cheese mixture is just beginning to bubble out from the top and bottom of the jalapeños, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

SMOKY JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• Put on your food prep gloves. Slice each jalapeno open lengthwise using a paring knife, then make a small crosswise cut at the stem end to form a T.
• Insert your (gloved!) fingertip through the top of the opening and gently wiggle the core loose, then remove. Rinse under cold water to remove any additional seeds. Pat dry gently with a paper or clean towel and set aside. Repeat with the remaining peppers.
• Combine the Cheddar, Asiago, cream cheese and smoked hot sauce in a large bowl until smooth and well blended.
• Gently nudge the cheese filling into each pepper with a spoon. To close the peppers, gently squeeze each one until it resembles its original shape. Don't worry if the peppers tear a bit, just squeeze them shut.
• Sift together the breadcrumbs, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a shallow bowl.
• Lightly beat the eggs in a second shallow bowl.
• One at a time, hold the peppers by the stems and dip them in the beaten eggs, letting the excess drip off, and roll in the breadcrumbs; dip in the eggs again and reroll in breadcrumbs. Set on a plate to dry slightly.
• In the meantime, heat 2 1/2 inches of the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F. Add three or four of the jalapeno poppers, making sure not to crowd your pan, and fry in batches until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on the temperature of the oil and adjust the heat as necessary so it stays steady.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate; season with salt. Repeat with the remaining poppers and serve immediately.

CHIPOTLES (SMOKED JALAPENOS)

Steps:

• Fire up any kind of smoker: dry, water, electric, side or stovetop. Keep heat very low, under 230 degrees if possible.
• Stem your peppers, but don't seed them. Place peppers in a single layer on the grate.
• Using pecan (traditionally) or another wood according to your taste, bring up a good dense smoke. Keep the smoke as dense as possible, while keeping a very close eye on the heat.
• When using a stovetop smoker, after bringing the smoker up to temperature and producing smoke, reduce the heat to low. The process will take a lot longer but you won't cook your peppers.
• Check them every hour or so. They're ready when they have shrivelled up and look like dark leather.
• I just put mine in a canning jar, put on the lid and keep them in the cupboard. They keep nearly forever, if they are smoked through.
• If you want to pack them in adobo, this is a good recipe: #140353 Adobo de Chile [url]http://www.recipezaar.com/140353[/url].

SMOKED OXTAILS WITH FIRE-ROASTED GARLIC, PEPPERS AND ONIONS OVER SMOKED GOUDA GRITS

Steps:

• Slather the oxtails in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
• Mix the coarse kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, five-spice, Big Lee's Sweet Heat, curry powder and paprika in a small bowl.
• Generously apply the dry rub to all sides of the oxtails. Cover and allow to dry brine in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Set up your smoker following the manufacturer's instructions and heat to 200 degrees F. Add applewood or hickory wood as specified by the manufacturer. Alternatively, set up a charcoal grill for smoking following the manufacturer's instructions and heat to 200 degrees F.
• Place the oxtails in a large aluminum baking pan in the smoker on the indirect side (farthest from the fire box or heat source) and smoke for 2 hours.
• Increase the smoker temperature to 300 degrees F and smoke until the oxtails are a beautiful, glistening, mahogany color and there is some rendered fat in the bottom of the pan, 2 hours more.
• Now, it's time to break down the oxtails' muscle fibers, while still retaining high levels of moisture. Remove the pan from the smoker, cover with aluminum foil and tightly seal the edges. Smoke until the meat is tender and easily pulls away from the bone, 2 hours more. If the meat doesn't easily pull away from the bone, rewrap the pan and smoke for 1 hour more.
• Remove the oxtails from the smoker and allow them to rest for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the Fresnos on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil to coat, sprinkle with salt and wrap in the foil. Repeat with the jalapeños, garlic and onion, using 3 separate sheets of foil. Place the wrapped Fresnos, jalapeños, garlic and onion in the smoker's firebox. If using a charcoal grill, remove the grill grate and place the wrapped vegetables in the coals. Cook until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Check frequently, as they can burn quickly.
• Transfer the vegetables to a work surface. Discard the foil. Pick up the garlic with long grilling tongs and hold over the smoker's fire or grill's coals until it develops a good char, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Repeat with the Fresnos, jalapeños and onion, 7 to 10 minutes each. Let rest for 5 minutes.
• Combine the milk, grits, butter, smoked sea salt and 1 1/2 cups water in medium saucepan. Place the saucepan on a burner over medium-low heat and bring to a very slow simmer, whisking occasionally. Cover and cook, whisking occasionally to prevent lumps and sticking to the bottom of the pot, until the grits thicken, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the grits from the heat and gently fold in the gouda until softened and slightly melted.
• Scoop the grits into 2 bowls. Pull the meat off of the oxtail bones with a fork and place on top of the grits.
• To deseed the Fresnos and jalapeños, cut them in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a chef's knife. Thinly slice the peppers crosswise. Thinly slice the roasted garlic. Peel the onion, cut it in half, then thinly slice it.
• Divide the Fresnos, jalapeños, Fresnos, garlic, onions and chives between the bowls. Top each dish with the zest of half of the lemon and a squirt of lemon juice.

SMOKEY JALAPENO CHEESE DIP

Steps:

• Place the Cheddar cheese into a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise with the jalapeno peppers, 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the diced jalapenos, smoke flavoring, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix until thoroughly blended. Stir into the Cheddar cheese, turn into a serving dish, and serve.

SPICY "LIL SMOKIE" BACON WRAPPED JALAPENO POPPERS

Steps:

• you'll first want to wash and trim the jalapeno peppers.Chop the stem off and slice the pepper lengthwise to expose the seeds and vein. Using a spoon, scrape out the white vein and rinse under water to wash away the seeds. The cream cheese will ultimately counteract the burn from the peppers, so leave a good amount of the inner membrane in tact if you want to feel the heat.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, paprika and cayenne pepper. Using a butter knife, or a pastry bag, fill each jalapeno half with a generous portion of the cream cheese mixture.
• Top each one of the jalapeno "boats" with a little smokey.
• Wrap each of the smokey topped jalapenos with a half slice of bacon, making sure that the seam is directly on top of the little smokey. Secure the wrap by inserting a toothpick straight down through the overlapping edges of the bacon all the way through the little smokey. Stop just short of going through the pepper though, that way the cream cheese doesn't leak out through the hole.
• Since bacon already contains a good amount of sodium, you'll want to season the buffalo poppers with a sugar based rub. A nice blend of brown sugar and cayenne pepper works great on these bad boys as well.
• Cooking the poppers is a matter of getting the bacon done to your liking. My preference is smoke at 250 degrees for about an hour and a half. At this point the bacon isn't overly crispy, but it's definitely cooked enough to be bite through. If you prefer a crispier bacon, then I'd suggest kicking the temperature up to 300 degrees for about an hour. You'll want to keep a close eye on the peppers though. If they overcook, then they'll loose their stability and your poppers will spill out all over your smoker.
• once your poppers are cooked to your liking, remove them from the grill to cool down a bit before serving. At this point I would typically top them with a generous helping of Barbecue Sauce cut with a little cran-apple juice, but this time around I happened to have a bottle of hot raspberry sauce. I used this sauce a few weeks ago on some pulled pork sandwiches and was pleasantly surprised as to how well the raspberry flavor melded with the smoked pork, but this blew the sandwich out of the water. The flavor of the smokey jalapeno matches perfectly with the sweet fruity sauce, and of course it's heat is in good company with the medley of peppers tasted in each bite. A spoonful of sauce on each popper and you can guarantee these tasty treats will disappear in no time flat!

SMOKY JALAPEñO PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Mix cream cheese spread and cheddar until blended; spoon into peppers, adding about 1 tsp. to each. Place on baking sheet.
• Pat sausage links dry with paper towels; place over peppers.
• Bake 10 min. or until heated through.