You’re going to want these pimento cheese stuffed jalapeños in your life. Grilled or smoked, they’re a perfect summer party snack!
I have a weird relationship with jalapeños. I know that as hot peppers go they are considered pretty pedestrian, but you guys, I am a mall-walker level pedestrian. Or perhaps I am being pushed in a stroller by a mall-walker level pedestrian. My poor tastebuds, they cannot deal. They. Just. Can’t. If you ask me to cook with a serrano or (God help me) a habanero, that’s gonna be a big fat no. Once, we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant and I ordered a chile relleno (a stuffed poblano). Apparently this one was grown near some hot peppers or something because it was so hot I couldn’t eat it. And I was sad.
The problem is that I actually love the flavor of jalapeños, so I cook with them fairly often. Much to my husband’s chagrin, I will sometimes half the amount, and I always remove the seeds. Sometimes it’s enough, sometimes not. By the way, I love cayenne too and I use it in all the things but I am so timid with it. Same for Sriracha. And Frank’s. And whatever else. Sigh.
My love for stuffed jalapeños began at my first teaching job at a nonprofit called Signal Centers in Brainerd. It was near a Sonic, so just about every teacher work day a carload of us would truck it down to the Sonic for jalapeño poppers (okay, Ched’R Peppers) and cherry limeade. Sometimes my mouth could take the heat from those jalapeños stuffed with molten cheese, breaded, and fried, and sometimes…not so much. These days I usually get mozzarella sticks when I make a Sonic run, but dang, I remember all those Ched’R Pepper trips fondly (as I have completely romanticized my 8 years at that job…I loved it so much).
I’ve never made stuffed jalapeños at home until recently, but I have become 100% obsessed with my grill and my smoker. I haven’t turned my oven on in weeks except to bake a pan of blondies (because my brownie pan won’t fit in my oven) and most of my cooking has been done outside. I’ve smoked chicken thighs and corn, potatoes, shrimp, and hot dogs (hot dogs, y’all) and I’ve grilled just as many different things. Naturally, when I decided that my blog needed a recipe for pimento cheese stuffed jalapeños (because my fridge is never without a container of pimento cheese), I decided that those needed to be grilled or smoked…or both. These were indeed delicious, but we kept a glass of milk nearby (milk is the best antidote to tame the burn of spicy foods)!
Shared on The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook and Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!
Mary // Chattavore
Yield: about 30 stuffed jalapeño halves
30 minPrep Time:
1 hr, 30 Cook Time:
2 hrTotal Time:
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Ingredients
- 1 pound jalapeños, halved and seeded
- 3/4 cup pimento cheese (you will probably have a little bit left over)
- uncooked bacon (1 strip for every 3 peppers halves - I used 10 strip)
Instructions
- Prepare grill for indirect cooking over medium-low heat (I heated the two center burners and cooked on the two outer racks) or preheat smoker to 225?, making sure you have enough chips to keep the smoke going for an hour and a half.
- Cut the bacon into thirds. Stuff each pepper half with about a teaspoon of pimento cheese then wrap with a piece of bacon.
- If using the smoker, place the peppers on a pan or wire rack (this is what I use) that will fit in your smoker. Smoke for an hour and a half, checking frequently to make sure that it is still producing smoke and adding more chips if necessary.
- If grilling, grill on the cool side of the grill for half an hour to 45 minutes, until bacon is done (it will not be crispy). A grill spatula is more effective than tongs for removing the peppers from the grill (ask me how I know).
- Serve stuffed jalapeños immediately.
Notes
The cook time is mostly inactive.
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