Bacon wrapped Chili poppers

Chill Poppers in Bacon

Man these little beauties are a real treat that you can make in the oven or on the braai. I must warn you that this recipe only makes 12 and from experience, you will need more than 2 or 3 per person as a taster. When you buy your chili poppers buy the longer ones unless you like them really spicy, I like them not too spicy so buy the ones that are at least 7 or 8cm long.

What you need

12 Jalapeno Chilis
250g Cream cheese
1/2 cup grated strong cheddar cheese
1 packet streaky bacon

The process

First off wash your jalapeno’s and then dry them. Take a sharp knife and cut off the stalk. Then roll them between your palms to loosen the seeds which will start falling out as you roll.

If you have a cocktail spoon this is the perfect implement to clean out any remaining seeds, otherwise just rinse them under running water as you roll out the last few seeds. You could also split them and clean them out that way but I like to keep the whole pod intact.

Set them aside and in a bowl mix together the cream cheese and cheddar cheese, add a touch of salt and a grind of pepper.

Now fill each Jalapeno with as much of the cream cheese mixture as possible. It’s messy work but make sure they are crammed full.

Now take a piece of bacon and start by wrapping the end closed and then winding around the rest of the Jalapeno.

Thats it, once they are done, pop them on the grill and cook until the bacon is cooked and the cheese oozing out. If you are doing them in the oven, pop them on a baking tray and grill, turning from time to time until bacon is cooked.

Serve them as is straight from the oven with a little french loaf to grab the oozing cream cheese.

Have fun with these, they are fantastic.