BBQ'd Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Jalapeno Poppers!
Speaking of passed-down recipes, here's a doozy. My friend Jules is from San Angelo, Texas, where his family was given this recipe by a cowboy cook/caterer fellow. He grilled them (along with a pile of his grandpoppa's ribs) for a bunch of us on Sunday.
Bacon-wrapped Chicken Jalapeno Poppers!
These are ridiculously tasty. And easy. And only mostly bad for you. (It's not like they're deep fried in batter, rosebud.)
Ingredients (serves 6-10, a couple of poppers each):
8-12 jalapenos
1-2 lbs bacon
1 pkg cream cheese
2-3 chicken breasts
The Prep (start your charcoal grill now; gas grill or broiler can wait til the assembly phase)
1. Roast or saute 2-3 chicken breasts in salt, pepper, and the fat of your choice til *just* done. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting them into thick, roughly jalapeno-sized slices. Resting lets the tasty juices seep back into the muscle tissue, leaving your chicken moist and fabulous.
2. Halve and seed a pile of fresh jalapeno peppers (shiny, taut skin is a sign of a fresh pepper!)
3. Pack them with cream cheese.
4. Soften a pound of good bacon; 2 minutes in a microwave works great -- just spread out the slices on layers of paper towel. A slightly greener solution is to soften your bacon via oven or stovetop. Whatev! Just don't let the bacon become even remotely crispy. Keep it flabby.
Now you have all your elements at the ready!!
The Assembly
1. Top each cream cheese-filled jalapeno half with a slice of chicken, then wrap the whole thing in a whole or half slice of bacon. Secure with a toothpick if going halvesies. Buy 1 lb of bacon for halvesies, 2 lbs of bacon for whole slice action.
2. Pop those poppers onto a hot grill or under a hot broiler. Turn them frequently enough that they get nice and brown and crispy on all sides.
Party in your Mouth
Serve with a flourish. A tableful of happy guests will be the inevitable result!
****
photos: Jules Beesley
These are ridiculously tasty. And easy. And only mostly bad for you. (It's not like they're deep fried in batter, rosebud.)
Ingredients (serves 6-10, a couple of poppers each):
8-12 jalapenos
1-2 lbs bacon
1 pkg cream cheese
2-3 chicken breasts
The Prep (start your charcoal grill now; gas grill or broiler can wait til the assembly phase)
1. Roast or saute 2-3 chicken breasts in salt, pepper, and the fat of your choice til *just* done. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting them into thick, roughly jalapeno-sized slices. Resting lets the tasty juices seep back into the muscle tissue, leaving your chicken moist and fabulous.
2. Halve and seed a pile of fresh jalapeno peppers (shiny, taut skin is a sign of a fresh pepper!)
3. Pack them with cream cheese.
4. Soften a pound of good bacon; 2 minutes in a microwave works great -- just spread out the slices on layers of paper towel. A slightly greener solution is to soften your bacon via oven or stovetop. Whatev! Just don't let the bacon become even remotely crispy. Keep it flabby.
Now you have all your elements at the ready!!
1. Top each cream cheese-filled jalapeno half with a slice of chicken, then wrap the whole thing in a whole or half slice of bacon. Secure with a toothpick if going halvesies. Buy 1 lb of bacon for halvesies, 2 lbs of bacon for whole slice action.
2. Pop those poppers onto a hot grill or under a hot broiler. Turn them frequently enough that they get nice and brown and crispy on all sides.
Serve with a flourish. A tableful of happy guests will be the inevitable result!
****
photos: Jules Beesley
Good lord, those look positively dangerous!
ReplyDeletefirst off, i just want buddha to know: it's true, i'll go vegetarian in my next life when i'm sure i'll become more fully enlightened. but, for now i'll just stick with my current more ultra yummy lifestyle, bacon included. :)
ReplyDeleteyou're killin' me good lately with all your yums! out of the corner of my eye i saw the words: "BBQ'd Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Jalapeno Poppers" in the fluxlife blog roll! BAM! BIFF! POW! it hit me right in the eye... i had to check out your blog posting!
i say pre and post cook the bacon a little less on half of the poppers; the other half crispy (for variety's sake). that, and i like my bacon a litte less done (the truth comes out)!
i don't know if putting your blog in the fluxlife blog roll was a good idea, i think i might gain a few too many pounds (lol)!
thanks again for more ultimate tastiness of blogness traci,
-steve @ fluxlife