SMOKED JALAPEÑO BACON WRAPPED POPPERS

Irresistible Smoked Jalapeño Bacon Wrapped Poppers: A Flavor Explosion!

Ingredients:

• 10 fresh jalapeños
• ½ lb thin sliced bacon

Filling

• 1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
  
• 1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  
• ½ lb ground sausage
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Halve each jalapeño lengthwise and remove the seeds. Set aside
   
2. Drain the diced tomatoes and green chilies. Place them on paper towels and pat them dry to remove excess moisture; this keeps your filling firm.
   In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, dried tomatoes, chilies, and salt and pepper to taste.
   
3. Fill each jalapeño half generously with the cream cheese mixture.
   
4. Divide the ground sausage into 20 small logs. Place one sausage log onto the cream cheese mixture in each jalapeño half.
   
5. Lay the bacon strips on a cutting board and gently press/stretch them out with your hands.
   Thinning the bacon helps ensure a crispy finish when cooked and stretches it further. Depending on the size of your jalapeños, you might only need half a strip per popper.
   
6. Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with a bacon strip. Make sure the ends of the bacon strip are tucked underneath, on the jalapeño side, to secure it.
   
7. Place your poppers on the cooler side of the grill, jalapeño side down.
   
8. Close the lid and cook for 1 hour, or until the bacon is crispy and the sausage is cooked to an internal temperature of 160ºF
9. Remove the poppers from the grill & plate them.

Enjoy them!