Bacon Pineapple Jalapeno Poppers
These potent party appetizers dodge the deep fryer

March 2, 2015

Think of jalapeno  poppers and you usually envision sloppy late-night bar orders followed by mornings of regret and severe indigestion. Call it the “beer stomach” effect where, like, “beer muscles,” you only think you have more intestinal fortitude than you do.

But don’t blame the popper. Blame the bar.

Most joints make jalapeno poppers incorrectly. They stuff them with cheap cream cheese. They clobber them with too much batter. They deep-fry them to oblivion.

Make these poppers instead. They’re grilled, which provides far more flavor than the fryer. They’re stuffed with pineapple, which balances the heat of the jalapenos far better than crappy cream cheese.

And they’re wrapped in bacon, which is, well, bacon.

These potent party appetizers dodge the deep fryer and nix the cream cheese while still packing serious flavor and heat. Cook. Eat. Grunt

Grilled Jalapeno Stuffed with Pineapple, Chorizo, and Wrapped with Bacon

What you’ll need:
12 large jalapenos
1 pineapple, cored and cut into pieces
1 chorizo sausage cut into about 12 pieces
12 slices bacon
12 large basil leaves
12 large wooden toothpicks, soaked in water for at least 1 hour

How to make it:
1. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Add the jalapenos and char on all sides, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, seal with plastic wrap, and allow to sit until the skin loosens, about 5 minutes.
2. Wearing gloves, if possible, remove the skin from the peppers. Slice off the stem of each jalapeno and carefully remove the seeds while trying to keep each pepper intact*.
3. Stuff a piece of pineapple into the cavity of each jalapeno. Hold a piece of chorizo and a basil leaf against the length of the stuffed pepper, wrap the whole thing in bacon, and affix with a toothpick.
4. Grill the bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapenos over medium-heat until the bacon crisps on all sides, turning occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 6 to 12 servings.

*The tip of a long thin knife scrapes the seeds from the bottom of the pepper best. Or, if you’re feeling dangerous, leave so seeds in to increase the heat factor of the poppers.

** The original recipe uses Kielbasa, a Polish sausage. Since Kielbasa isn’t readily available in South Africa, we’ve switched it out and used chorizo.