jalapeno Archives - The Midnight Baker

Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Tenderloin

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 23:00:35 +0000

Toss this jalapeño popper stuffed tenderloin on the grill for your next BBQ. Does it get any better than a bacon wrap?

Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Tenderloin

Tenderloin is one of my favorite pork cuts. The reason for that is that it cooks pretty quickly and can be flavored or stuffed in so many ways. In other words, it’s different each way you make it so you never get bored! This jalapeño popper stuffed tenderloin is just one of those ways.

Lucky for me, tenderloins have been on sale quite a bit in my area. I definitely take advantage of that. And nothing complements a pork loin like a zippy jalapeño popper stuffing. It’s wrapped in bacon too so what’s not to love about this?

Grill Smoker Or Oven

That choice is pretty much up to you–and the weather, of course.

Since I love my outdoor grills so much, my method of choice for this (and any tenderloin) is indirect grilling. To do this, you cook the meat on the unlit side of a gas grill. On a charcoal grill, you bank the coals to one side and cook the meat on the side with no coals underneath. One thing about charcoal grills and indirect cooking is the BBQ must have a lid. A Weber kettle is perfect.

If you have a smoker, that’s a perfect way to do this tenderloin. I’d recommend apple wood chips as it goes so well with pork.

The oven is probably the quickest way to do this. It should cook in about 45 minutes at 400F/200C.

Prepping The Tenderloin

First you must remove all membrane and silver skin. If left on, it will shrink and change the shape of the meat.

Next, in order to fill it, you have to butterfly the tenderloin. I also try to pound down the thick parts so it all cooks evenly.

I won’t lie here–you’re going to need about 2 pounds of bacon to wrap 2 pieces. The bacon should overlap so there are no bare spots. It’s also best to cook this seam side up so you don’t lose any delicious filling. I didn’t need toothpicks or skewers to keep the bacon in place, but have some handy just in case.

The Recipe

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Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Tenderloin

Three ways to cook

Prep Time25

Cook Time3

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: jalapeño popper stuffed pork, pork tenderloin cooked on the grill, stuffed pork tenderloin

Servings: 8

Calories: 1005kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 pork tenderloins
24 oz bacon approximately

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese softened
4 jalapeños cored, seeded and
2 tbs onion finely minced
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbs chili powder

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Remove membrane and any fat off the tenderloins.
Butterfly the tenderloins (there are great YouTube videos on butterflying); set aside.
Mix all the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Divide the filling equally down the center of each butterflied tenderloin.
Fold the ends of the tenderloin over the filling and wrap tightly with the bacon slices. FYI you may use more or less bacon than I did depending on how large the tenderloins are—mine were pretty big.
This can be cooked 3 ways—oven, indirect grill heat or in a smoker.
For oven: cook in a 400F/200C oven for 45-60 minutes
For indirect grill heat: place the tenderloins on the UNLIT side of a gas grill. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 hours or until the internal temperature is 160F/80C
For the smoker: applewood chips are nice for pork. Smoke at 200F/100C for 3-5 hours. Internal temperature should be the same as for indirect method

Nutrition

The post Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Tenderloin appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Bacon Wrapped Overstuffed Jalapeño Poppers

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 00:00:37 +0000

Whip up a peck of these pepper poppers for your next movie night!

Perfect Party Food

Jalapeño poppers are a perennial favorite party food. Just put a tray of these out and watch them disappear.

There are countless ways to make this popular appetizer, but the basic ingredients in any variation is cream cheese and of course, jalapeño peppers.

Tips From A Texan

My friend Barbara is a native of west Texas. She told me that it’s simply not a BBQ without jalapeño poppers, and Texans make them with many variations.

She told me that one particular filling she was crazy about was honey nut cream cheese. That sounds interesting because she said that the sweetness offsets the heat of the pepper.

Barbara also said it’s pretty common to add a small slice of uncooked chicken breast in with the standard filling. Wrap that in bacon and grill until the pepper is cooked–which will also cook the chicken.

Also common in her area of Texas is a stuffing with Sandhill crane. She said this is also called “ribeye of the sky.”

Variations On A Theme

While jalapeños are the standard pepper used in this appetizer, you can get creative depending on your taste!

For those who like it hot, then maybe try them with habaneros or Carolina reapers. These varieties are pretty small so the filling recipe will fill more peppers.

For those that live on the mild side, then small poblanos or small Italian frying peppers will work very well.

The Recipe

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Bacon Wrapped Overstuffed Jalapeño Poppers

Jalapeño poppers are a perennial favorite party food. Just put a tray of these out and watch them disappear.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: bacon wrapped poppers, jalapeno poppers

Servings: 24 poppes

Calories: 90kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

12 jalapeño peppers about 3-inches long
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese -OR- shredded asiago cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 slices bacon cut in half

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil.
Slice peppers in half lengthwise; remove seeds and ribs.
In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, garlic powder, salt and shredded cheese.
Divide filling evenly between peppers. Wrap each pepper in a half-slice of bacon.
Place peppers on prepared pan.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until bacon is browned and crispy.

Nutrition

The post Bacon Wrapped Overstuffed Jalapeño Poppers appeared first on The Midnight Baker.

Jalapeño Popper Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 00:00:10 +0000

If you love jalapeño poppers or the dip of the same name, you’ll just love this chicken in a creamy jalapeño cheese sauce!

While I’m not really a “hot” food fanatic, I do enjoy jalapeño peppers.

I love these peppers in cheese scrambled eggs I make when I have some–meaning fresh not the canned variety. I can’t grow them conventionally where I live since the season is too short. I did have success growing them in my Aerogarden, but that turned out to be an expensive proposition where buying them in the store was cheaper.

Well, last week my store had them on sale. I imagine it was due to Super Sunday and all the dips you make with them and the old standby, jalapeño poppers. So I bought some intending to make this chicken.

I’m sure I didn’t invent this recipe and the idea was probably stuck in my head from seeing something of the same name somewhere, but I just made a simple cheese sauce with the help of a condensed soup which I knew would taste good with this.

The chicken was extra tasty because I pounded it, breaded it and deep fried it. I have a pro deep fryer so I’m actually looking for ways to use it, and this was perfect. The deep-fried chicken breast will taste better and add that crunch to the dish, but it’s not necessary to deep fry. You can saute the chicken breasts in a little olive oil and they will still taste delicious–they just won’t be as crunchy.

I used only one jalapeño in the sauce just so the flavor wouldn’t be overpowering. However, you can add as many as you like, so if you like a strong pepper flavor, then use two or even three. I added the extra flavor by using rings I cut off another pepper for a garnish. Plus the garnish just looks so good too!

Since I had the fryer set up, I served this with french fries, but a baked potato using some of the sauce instead of butter or sour cream would be fantastic. In fact, twice-baked potatoes made with the sauce recipe would be super!!

This chicken reheats well so make additional portions for a “planned over” during the week.

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Jalapeño Popper Chicken

If you love jalapeño poppers or the dip of the same name, you’ll just love this chicken in a creamy jalapeño cheese sauce!

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Chicken, skillet dinners

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, jalapeno poppers

Servings: 4

Calories: 611kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
2 cups dry bread crumb
Oil for frying see NOTE

SAUCE

1 tbsp butter
1 can 10.75 oz cream of chicken soup
2 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup milk See NOTES
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 medium jalapeño pepper finely diced (see NOTES)
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Pound each breast portion down to 1/4-inch between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using a mallet.
Dip each breast in the cream, allowing excess cream to drip off.
Bread each breast with the bread crumbs and place on a cooling rack (like you use for cookies) to allow the breading to dry slightly and adhere better, about 10 minutes.
FOR DEEP FRY ONLY--heat oil to 350 degrees F. Fry for 5 minutes total. I was able to fry 2 breasts at a time, but this will probably have to be done in shifts so you can keep the cooked pieces warm by placing them on a cooling rack and placing them in a 200 degree F oven. Repeat until all chicken is cooked.
TO SAUTE IN A PAN--Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown breasts well. about 5 minutes per side. Keep warm as instructed in the deep fry section. Repeat with remaining chicken.
TO MAKE SAUCE--Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
Saute onion, garlic and peppers until aromatic--about 2-3 minutes.
Empty can of soup into the saucepan. Whisk in milk gradually so the sauce is smooth. Heat through.
Add the softened cream cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Cook, stirring, until cream cheese is melted.
Turn off heat and add shredded cheddar. Stir until melted. Add any salt or pepper at this point if you need it.
Place chicken on serving platter and drizzle sauce over chicken or serve the sauce separately as gravy so each person can add their own.

Notes

If you chose to saute the chicken breasts you will need 2 tbs of oil--1 tablespoon for the first batch sauteed, the remaining for the 2nd batch

You can whisk in more milk if a thinner sauce is desired
If stronger pepper flavor is desired, use 2 or 3 jalapeños

Nutrition

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