Smokie Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Jalapeños

Smokie Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Jalapeños 12 fresh jalapeno peppers 12 slices of bacon 24 little smokies 1 package of cream cheese (room temperature) 1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp cayenne pepper ★To start the construction of the stuffed jalapeños, you’ll first want to wash and trim the jalapeno peppers. I highly recommend wearing plastic food prep gloves during the trimming portion to keep the jalapeno juices from soaking into your skin, so proceed with caution if you choose not to heed my advice. Trimming these guys is a relatively simple task. Simply chop the stem off and slice the pepper lengthwise to expose the seeds and vein. Using a spoon, scrape out the white vein and rinse under water to wash away the seeds. The cream cheese will ultimately counteract the burn from the peppers, so leave a good amount of the inner membrane intact if you want to feel the heat. In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, shredded cheese, paprika and cayenne pepper. Using a butter knife, or a pastry bag, fill each jalapeno half with a generous portion of the cream cheese mixture. Top each one of the jalapeno “boats” with a little smoky. Wrap each of the smoky topped jalapenos with a half slice of bacon, making sure that the seam is directly on top of the little smoky. Secure the wrap by inserting a toothpick straight down through the overlapping edges of the bacon all the way through the little smoky. Stop just short of going through the pepper though, that way the cream cheese doesn’t leak out through the hole. Cooking the peppers is a matter of getting the bacon done to your liking. My preference is smoke at 250 degrees for about an hour and a half. At this point the bacon isn’t overly crispy, but it’s definitely cooked enough to be bite through. If you prefer a crispier bacon, then I’d suggest kicking the temperature up to 300 degrees for about an hour. You’ll want to keep a close eye on the peppers though. If they overcook, then they’ll lose their stability and your turds will spill out all over your smoker. Once your buffalo turds are cooked to your liking, remove them from the grill to cool down a bit before serving. If you don’t have a smoker you can cook them in your oven on 300 for an hour or a little longer