Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos V2.0

Summer may be winding down fast, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop grilling. I hope to be out on our building terrace with charcoal until there is snow or they shut the patio down (which they do for the winter). Grill forever!

Last month, Ricky prepared some Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos (BWJ's)for our Backyard Ribfest. That got me and LJ jonesing for more, so when we got back to Ottawa, we made them for some company down visiting. Then I remembered the problems I had last year trying to make them on our lidless charcoal pit while they were cooking. This attempt was good, but still it wasn't satiating our BWJ cravings. So I decided to try again.

WK BACON -WRAPPED JALAPENOS V2.0

Ingredients:

• Jalapenos, sliced lengthwise, seeds/ribs removed
• cream cheese
• cheddar cheese, shredded
• Parmesan cheese
• smoked paprika
• bacon, cut in half
• toothpicks, soaked in water

Instructions:

1. Fill emptied jalapeno shell with cream cheese.
2. Wrap shell with bacon, secure with toothpick.
3. Grill (or bake) until bacon is crispy. Enjoy!
   
   

Alright, following Rick's footsteps, we've gone 'three cheese' with cream, cheddar and Parmesan (fake stuff).




Slice the jalapenos and remove seeds and ribs. I don't wear gloves to do this because, well, I'm crazy like that. You may want to wear gloves so the oil doesn't get on your fingers and possibly in eyes or other sensitive areas by accident.



Mixing of the three cheeses. No measurements, just go with what you feel.



My new secret ingredient for BWJ's: smoked paprika. Ooops, secret out.

Spoon mixture into jalapeno 'shell'.

An armada of cream cheese jalapeno boats. Arrrrrrrrrr, shiver me timbers. Bacon ho!

Ok that collection of bacon had very little meat. Remember when bacon wasn't just white with a few specks of red?

2 wrapping styles:

1) cover the end, bring it around and spear. Covering the end because I cut out the stem so that you can just 'pop' these into your mouth when done. But otherwise, cheese mixture will leak out.

2) fully wrapped. Only possible with long bacon strips and small jalapeno shells.

So again, my BBQ pit has no lid. And no 4th wall. This means a lot of heat loss. It also means I have a hard time cooking certain foods. The problem is the bacon won't cook on the top of the BWJ's because the heat normally goes straight up. The only real option is to flip it, but the cheese mixture will ooze out.

Above, I have tried to create a 'lid' using tinfoil wrapped around another grill (from the adjacent pit) in which to create a tent of heat on an easily movable, handled grill. Problems? Oh yes.

Problem #1: The adjustable grill is the same size as the grill the BWJ's are on, so it doesn't sit above it. So I began to rearrange the bricks that make up the 2nd pit. Even still, the tinfoil grill doesn't fit right.

Problem #2: The tinfoil is not securely attached and keeps coming off.

Problem #3: I am cooking on direct heat. Why? I am afraid of under-cooking the bacon / loosing heat from the charcoal too quickly. But it's too hot and the bacon grease is causing flair-ups.

To combat these problems, I toss some water to cool some coals (careful not put it out though), then move the coals to the left, the poppers to the right (for indirect heating). I also just take the tinfoil off of the extra grate and make a tent as best I can.

This does not create the most desired results (as it would in say a gas grill), but lets be honest, the bacon cooked, the cheese melted and the jalapenos bit.

BWJ's were the stars of the show, but the main course was burgers (not shown being grilled).

What Would I Do Differently Next Time? There isn't much I can do to fix my grill problems, short of looking to buy a used lid from a garage sale. I would like the top bacon to be a bit crispier, but that's my preference for bacon. The 3 cheese mixture was great (you could taste all three cheeses) and the smoked paprika gave it a slight flair of mystery to the mix. BWJ - one more way to enjoy life.