Jalapeno poppers are as ubiquitous in American casual dining as ‘flair’ and microwaved main dishes. From the greasiest dive bar to the classiest Chili’s I’ve seen jalapeno poppers on menus in some of the best states (and the flyover states too). Surprisingly, jalapenos are not so common in Europe so when I saw some at my local market I decided to finally put poppers up on the blog. Although in typical Cooking To Entertain fashion, I created these ‘upscale’ gourmet goat cheese jalapeno poppers for a twist.
For those who have been following me since the beginning (thanks all three of you) you may have remembered I made CAYENNE CHILI POPPERS during the last holiday season. However those were pan fried and these goat cheese jalapeno poppers are more mild.
To make these goat cheese jalapeno poppers lets first discuss general ingredients. Of course you need the jalapenos, but along with that you’ll need 125 grams of Cream Cheese, 125 grams of Goat Cheese (I used hard aged goat’s cheese, but you can use a soft chevre if you prefer), green onions, and bacon.
To make the filling mixture add the cream and grated goat cheese (if you use soft goat cheese no need to grate it) to a bowl. Also add in the chopped green onion, about three tablespoons. For the seasonings I do a teaspoon of salt, and two teaspoons each of garlic powder and paprika. Mix everything up and set aside while you prep the jalapenos.
Cut the jalapenos in half and scoop out the inside seeds and veins. The best method in my opinion is a little teaspoon as it fits the shape quite well. Place them on a parchment lined baking tray. This recipe makes 40 poppers, so in total I’m using 20 jalapenos (two trays full).
Spoon the filling mixture into the split peppers and round it off using the teaspoon so its a somewhat even mound.
Take a full strip of bacon and wrap each filled jalapeno half completely around. If you are wondering what the liquid around them are, well that is one of my favorite steps.
Take a few raw sugar cubes and put them in a ramekin or small bowl. Add in a couple tablespoons of boiling water until the sugar dissolves and you get a thin syrup. You can also do this step on my sweet pepper poppers recipe, although they aren’t spicy so don’t really NEED the sweetness to balance.
Use a pastry brush to brush the raw sugar syrup over the bacon wrapped goat cheese jalapeno poppers. Because the syrup should be thin the excess will just drip down to the parchment. I don’t want to say this step is necessary, but the raw sugar paired with the grassiness of the hard goat cheese is so delightful. Place the tray in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
Finally pop the entire tray in the oven at 200 Celsius and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the bacon reaches your desired crispiness. Some of the cheese may leak out and caramelize on the edges with the sugar syrup, but I rarely say no to fried cheese. Any parts that are too burnt just cut off.
Goat Cheese Jalapeno Poppers
Equipment
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 20 Jalapenos
- 125 grams Cream Cheese recommend Philadelphia
- 125 grams Goat Cheese I used a hard goat cheese that I grated, but you can use a soft one as well.
- 3 Green Onions chopped
- 40 slices Bacon
- 2 tbsp Raw Sugar
- 2 tbsp Water boiling
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Paprika
Instructions
- In a bowl mix the cream cheese with the goat cheese, and the salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Then mix in the chopped green onion.
- Slice your jalapenos in half and spoon out the seeds and veins. Lay on a parchment lined baking tray.
- Use a teaspoon to fill the jalapeno halves with the cheese mixture creating a bit of a mound. Then wrap each popper with an entire strip of bacon. In a small dish mix together the raw sugar and the boiling water. Use a pastry brush to dress the poppers.
- Chill in the fridge for at least an hour (optional, but this does help the bacon dry out and get a bit more caramelized).
- Place in an oven preheated to 200 Celsius and bake for 15-20 minutes depending on how crispy you want your bacon to be.
