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jalapeno popper safety question

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    jalapeno popper safety question

    Hello all, hoping someone can ease my mind on my poppers wrapped in bacon.
    I cut my jalapenos in half, fill with a cream cheese mix, then wrap about half a piece of raw bacon around them and grill on weber kettle.
    Been doing it this way for a few years then noticed the last time I made them the underside of the bacon looked raw (after cooking at about 350 degrees for 45 min.) the top side was crispy almost over cooked....
    So now doing it the same way I checked with an instant read and ir thermometer and the top of the popper reads above 200 with the ir gun, and my instant read is about 200 when poked just under the bacon.... but bottom side of bacon still looks pink and under cooked.... anyone else have this issue? is it just the way it looks due to the indirect heat ?


    #2
    I use Malcom Reed's recipe and cook them at 275 and they come out perfect evey time. Takes about 1.5hrs. His recipe calls for carne asada between the cheese and bacon. Unbelievable!

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      #3
      Are you using cheddar cheese in the mix? Maybe a dye issue. I wouldn’t worry, if you’re getting 200* readings the beasties are long gone.

      Comment


      • marshall
        marshall commented
        Editing a comment
        beasties long gone! yep lots of cheddar cheese in the mix

      #4
      Happens all the time with mine. I assume it is the grease flowing down that keeps it from crisping.

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        #5
        Sometimes I like to mix diced prosciutto into the cream cheese and skip the bacon.

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          #6
          thanks for the great feed back !

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            #7
            I have the same problem, at least with the ones farther away from the fire. I usually just end up rotating 'em around so they all spend time near the fire. The underside doesn't get crispy, but it does render out a bit better. Using thin bacon also helps, as does par-cooking the bacon, but that's a pain in the butt so I don't do it anymore.

            Comment


              #8
              Once bacon reaches 160 it is safe to eat. The fact that is not crisp but is chewy does not mean it is not cooked. Most of the popper holders sort of keep the bottom from crisping.

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                #9
                You could put in oven to begin cooking. Then wrap and on grill. I did that the other night with sea scallops. They become crisp, if that's the way you like your bacon, it works.

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                  #10
                  Sounds like yer golden, from here, Amigo...if ya ever have any worries, ya can always add th extry step of parcookin yer bacon some, grill, griddle, oven, fryin pan, it don't make no difference, then wrappin yer poppers with...results are most likely th same, safety wise, but ya might feel more safer, with more crispy bacon...

                  Comment


                    #11
                    Just curious, what type of cooker are you using and at what temp? I cook poppers all the time and might have some suggestions. Let me know.

                    Comment


                    • marshall
                      marshall commented
                      Editing a comment
                      weber kettle indirect probably at 300

                    • dshaffes
                      dshaffes commented
                      Editing a comment
                      In my opinion the airflow is not hitting the bottom of the poppers the same as on the top. I experience similar issues when cooking poppers using left/right indirect setups on a grill type cooker (Kettle, PK) versus a smoker with the fire coming from below (BGE, WSM). I always get a much more even rendering of the bacon using the BGE over the PK or Kettle. Additionally, I'll cook at a lower temp (250-275) for the first 2 hrs of the cook and them go higher (275-300) for the last 30 min or so.

                    • dshaffes
                      dshaffes commented
                      Editing a comment
                      One more comment. When I do cook poppers on my PK or Kettle, I will put poppers over direct side for a few minutes at the end to crisp up the bottom.

                    #12
                    I stretch the bacon a touch to make it a bit thinner, wrap the stuffed half jalapenos secure with a toothpick and FREEZE them. Since I am cooking at 230 for ribs brisket or butts (and this is generally when I am doing poppers) I will put them on about 90 minutes before time to eat... the freezing helps (I think) cook the exterior a bit faster than the interior. I usually have some charcoal going for grilled veggies or something since even on my 640 I run out of surface area... if need be I crisp them up over charcoal... it does tend to burn the toothpicks if you leave them in but I will pull them back away from the coals... also important not to overlap the bacon too much.

                    I have tried my other trick I do for fatties... and that is too precook the bacon on the griddle just to a point it is semi-cooked, still quite flexible but not too far away from really browning up and crisping... I weave that and it really does nicely...I tried it with success on poppers but it is too much trouble for me and I have not repeated the effort.

                    PS, try ABTs.

                    Comment


                    • texastweeter
                      texastweeter commented
                      Editing a comment
                      I like the freezing idea. Wouldn't use it if stuffed with sausage though.

                    #13
                    I’m guessing you cook the poppers in a pan? If so, the bacon is cooked but is insulated by the pan and the juices dripping down so it doesn’t get crispy. Similar things would happen if you overlap the bacon. I make sure to minimize if not eliminate any overlapping.

                    I cook directly on the rack or prep them on a cooling rack and then put that cooling rack directly on the smoker so there is hot air circulating around all sides.

                    Comment


                    • fracmeister
                      fracmeister commented
                      Editing a comment
                      I cook right on the rak as well. crisping up over charcoal is fast. I have never even measured internal temps. Peppers and cream cheese would be fine raw so anything like "hot" seems right. and even if not crisp, 90 minutes in my smoker would likely make bacon safe even if I didn't crisp them. I ate raw bacon in Kazakhstan and was fine... super thin slices from their "premier" pigs no doubt fed vodka

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