BBQ Bacon Jalapeño Poppers Recipe

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay a few layers of paper towels on top of a cooling rack and place near the oven.

Glaze and bake the bacon until crispy: Arrange the bacon in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush with 1½ tablespoons of barbecue sauce.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and caramelized (begin checking around 15 minutes; the bacon could take up to 20 minutes to fully crisp depending on the brand and thickness).

Remove the bacon from the oven and drain for a few minutes on paper towels, then transfer to a plate to finish cooling. The pieces will stick to the paper towels if left for too long.

While bacon cooks, prepare the filling. Combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chives, garlic, and barbecue sauce in a small mixing bowl.

Wear gloves for this step if sensitive to pepper heat. Cut the jalapeños in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Leave the stems on or trim them off as desired

Arrange all the jalapeños cut-side up on a platter or baking sheet.

Chop or crumble the bacon into small bits, then fold into the cream cheese mixture. Using a spoon, fill each of the jalapeño halves with a big dollop of the cream cheese mixture, mounding slightly.

At this point, the poppers can be covered and refrigerated until ready to grill, up to 24 hours.

For gas grills, heat the grill with the burners set to high and preheat for 10 minutes. When ready to grill, reduce the burners to medium.

For charcoal grills, fill a grill chimney with charcoal and light it. When the coals are hot, (they should be covered with a layer of fine gray ash) empty the coals into the grill and push them to one side of the grill to make higher heat and lower heat cooking zones.

Set the grate in place and cover the grill. Preheat the grate for 5 minutes.

Brush grill grates with oil to prevent sticking. If using a charcoal grill, cook over the low-heat cooking zone.

Using tongs, place the poppers on the grill so they lay across the grates and don’t fall through. If any of the poppers is leaning to the side, prop it up against a neighbor so the cheese filling doesn’t start to melt out as the poppers cook.

Grill for about 10 minutes until the poppers are seared on the bottoms and the cheese filling is hot and bubbling around the edges. Be careful of overcooking or the peppers will become too soft.

Using tongs and a spatula in tandem to scoop up the poppers, remove from the grill and transfer to a platter.

Serve immediately alongside sour cream, if desired. Discard the stems while eating.