I wanted to do something a little different for the Fourth of July, so I decided to stuff jalapenos with crab meat and cream cheese, wrap them in bacon, and smoke them! Oh, my goodness! I cannot begin to describe how heavenly these things are! We’ve all had jalapeno poppers, but the smoked flavor on these is…life-changing!
Sit back and enjoy this one. I’ve even included a few “Well Duh!”s. Those are great cooking tips that you’re going to take one look at and say, “Well, duh!” Seriously, they’re not rocket science. They’re not even ground-breakingly new. But they’re pretty cool!
I used 36 jalapenos that I split in half and then seeded and removed the membranes. The Boy helped me with the seeding part. He actually wore The Redhead’s swimming goggles while he was working so he wouldn’t get jalapeno juice in his eyes. I wanted to take a picture, but he threatened to stop helping, so I refrained. I laughed at him at first, but halfway into the process, I was really wishing I could find another pair of goggles so I could wear them, too! We used a regular spoon to scrape out the seeds and membranes. We also wore plastic gloves. Peppers can be dangerous, you know.
When we were done, I sent him off to the shower to make sure he had all the jalapeno off of him and then I (Here’s Well, Duh #1) put all the pepper halves in a bowl and filled the bowl with cool water. I then swished the peppers around in the water which made all the loose seeds we’d missed float to the top!
I removed the peppers and laid them face down on a couple of layers of paper towels. I left them alone for about 10 minutes to dry.
While they were drying, I mixed softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic salt, and shredded crab meat together. I put the mixture into a large zippered bag. Well Duh #2: Do you ever have trouble pouring something into a zippered bag and wish you had a couple of extra hands? Well, we have gone through approximately 2,845 blenders since we got married in 1991. What can I say? We make alot of smoothies! Anyway, the last time we killed one, I kept the pitcher. Here’s what you do:
Put the zippered bag inside the pitcher, leaving the top 3 or 4 inches hanging out over the rim.
Now you just spoon or pour stuff into the bag! The pitcher holds it for you!
When it’s full, pull it out carefully and seal the bag!
I snipped off a corner of the bag, and used it like a pastry bag to fill each pepper half with the cream cheese mixture.
I used packages of regular (not thick cut) bacon and cut the packages in half. I wrapped each pepper half with a half strip of bacon, enclosing the cream cheese as much as possible. Then I used a toothpick to secure the bacon. Well, Duh #3: Word to the wise, don’t use the cute, colored toothpicks. The color will bleed into the food! We once had stuffed grilled chicken breasts with bright blue spots in them!
I placed the peppers onto the racks of our smoker and smoked them at 250 degrees for 2 hours. If you don’t have a smoker, you can grill them, but please be careful and watch them closely. Bacon burns easily on the grill. You can also bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp. Anyway you cook them, they’re going to be delicious. I mean, we’re talking cream cheese and bacon! How can you go wrong?
Here’s the finished product again!
And here’s the recipe!
- 36 jalapenos, sliced in half, seeded with membranes removed
- 4 packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup of mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
- 10 ounces of shredded crab meat (I used artificial this time, but you can certainly use the real thing!)
- 3 packages of regular (not thick-cut) bacon
- box of toothpicks (not the colored ones!)
Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic salt, and crab meat together in a large bowl. Put mixture into a large, zippered bag. Snip one corner at the bottom of the bag. Pipe the cream cheese mixture into each pepper half. Wrap each in a half strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Smoke at 250 degrees for 2 hours. Or grill until bacon is crisp, watching carefully to avoid burning the bacon. Or bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks before serving – or at least warn the eaters to remove them!
Recent Comments