Smoked Jalapeno Poppers [Bacon & Cheese]

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Smoked jalapenos stuffed with bacon and cheese before being smoked over a hickory wood fire. This easy barbecue appetizer recipe will be an instant hit at your next backyard cook-off.

Smoked Jalapeño Poppers [Bacon & Cheese]

This easy smoked jalapeños recipe takes everything you love about the classic appetizer and makes it a once-in-a-lifetime experience by making them in your outdoor smoker. With thickly cut smoked bacon and stuffed with melted cheese, this delicious BBQ recipe brings wood fire smoke to this addictive finger food dish.

This is one of our favorite smoked appetizers , and it’s easy to see why. From making the best dry BBQ marinade to choosing the perfect wood for smoking, here’s how to make smoked jalapeños from scratch. let’s fry

Filling

Our jalapeño popper filling is made with delicious cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese, tossed with crispy shredded bacon and a dry, smoky-sweet marinade(ingredients in the recipe below). This combination of ingredients provides the perfect balance of creamy filling and sweetness that matches the jalapeño’s natural spiciness.

If you prefer to use store-bought dressing, I recommend Hey Grill Hey’s Signature Sweet Dressing or Hardcore Carnivore’s Tex Mex Seasoning. (Note: None of these links are affiliate links and we do not earn any commission from purchases made through these links. Love your stuff!)

Most grill popper recipes call for the poppers to be wrapped in bacon before grilling. In our experience, this can leave a lot of greasy residue in your smoker, leading to a lot of mess and sometimes flare-ups when using a grill. More importantly, however, it prevents the bacon from becoming crispy. To avoid this, we pre-smoked the bacon until crisp, then sliced and served in our cream cheese filling.

We Recommend: 17 Best Smoked Pork Recipes [Pulled Pork, Shoulder, Loin, Boston Butt & More]

Smoked wood

We use hickory wood for this quick recipe. While hickory is a sturdy grilling wood that releases thick smoke and a strong aroma, the short cooking time for this recipe means we need something powerful that can carry a lot of flavor in a short amount of time.

If you want something milder, try mixing applewood with a few hickory chunks for a balance of fruity wood with traditional barbecue smoke.

Quick tips

To keep your poppers soft and flavorful, soak the jalapeno peppers in cold water for 30 minutes after removing the seeds and membrane. Remember to dry them before grilling.
Is preparing ingredients slowing you down? Use a melon corer to easily remove the inside of the peppers.
If you’re smoking the bacon, try increasing the heat to at least 400°F(205°C) in the last 10 minutes to crisp it up.

Smoked jalapeno poppers

Smoked jalapenos stuffed with bacon and cheese before being smoked over a hickory wood fire. This easy barbecue appetizer recipe will be an instant hit at your next backyard cook-off.

Appetizer course

American cuisine , BBQ

Gluten free diet

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total time 1 hour 20 minutes

Serving

Gear

Hickory toasted wood
Stainless Steel Wire Shelf

Ingredients

12 jalapeno victims
1 cup cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices of thick cut bacon
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes

Dry massage

1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ tablespoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

We Recommend: BBQ Smoked Trisket [What is it? + Recipe]

Instructions

Turn on your smoker at 150°C(300°F).
Place bacon on smoking racks. Close the lid and roast for 30 minutes.
Remove bacon from smoker and set on wire rack to cool. Reduce smoking temperature to 120 °C.
Halve the jalapeño peppers lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a small spoon.
On a small tattoo, combine dry dressing ingredients. Mix with a fork, breaking up any lumps.
Cut the smoked bacon into small squares or pieces.
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, shredded cheese, smoked bacon bits, and dry rub. combine background
Pour the bacon and cheese filling into each half of the jalapeno peppers.
Arrange the peppers on the grid, leaving space between each pepper. Sprinkle the peppers with the chopped red pepper flakes.
Place rack over incense racks. Place hickory wood shavings on the coals or wood tray and close the lid. Smoke for 30-40 minutes until cheese has melted and peppers have softened.
Remove the jalapeños from the smoker and enjoy immediately.