Jalapeno Poppers

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It would be interesting to make the poppers and cook them, let them cool and freeze them. Then some time later defrost them and reheat them then serve.

I'm not quite sure what the exact process would be, there's plenty of people here on the forum who know about cook-freeze-reheat than me, perhaps you have some ideas on how to do this.

I think perhaps assemble them, partially cook them, let them cool then freeze them. Later I don't know if you'd thaw them first or maybe directly into the oven to complete the cooking cycle before serving them. Do you have any ideas?

The goal would be perhaps you're having a party and you want to do the labor in advance so that on the day of the party you won't have to focus on making the poppers and can concentrate on the other food you're going to serve at your party.

One thing I know for sure though, fresh chilis get kind of rubbery after freezing even if only a day or two. I've been using that process with Thai chilis for the last few months. the problem is those little chilis don't last that long sitting on your counter or in your refrigerator. I was wondering how they would do being frozen until I need them. What I discovered is that they come out of the freeze and thaw process rubbery and limp, not crisp like they are when fresh. With my Thai cooking however, at least most recipes, this doesn't make much difference because I'm going to finely chop them and put them in a dish I'm cooking so their texture isn't very important. The sole exception I can think of is Thai squid salad where I like very thinly sliced Thai peppers. When they're sliced and eaten raw they need to be crisp. Only fresh chilis would work.

Getting back to the jalapeno poppers, by the time you cook them they've lost much of the crispness they have when fresh. I don't know what they'd do if you partially cooked the poppers and then went through the freeze then reheat and serve cycle. Maybe the partially peppers might work or maybe not.

So of anybody has any ideas let's hear it.
 
BTW I've thought up a variation and tried them on my neighbors and evidently my variation was liked because we got together for a late turkey dinner (a few days after Thanksgiving) and the wife specifically requested this version.

I got to thinking the poppers in some ways sort of resembled rumaki, so I put a slice of water chestnut in some of them, and the crunch from the WC was kind of nice.

Another variation I want to try, skip the slice peppers in half and instead just core them out maybe with a vegetable peeler or a very thin knife, fill them with cream cheese, then slice them into cylinders and wrap with bacon, cook in the usual manner.

For me this recipe has been slowly evolving. One mistake I was making at the beginning was dipping them in barbecue sauce. That's over kill and the sauce burns (the suger in the bbq sauce really over-caramelizes) and they burn and stick to the cookie sheet. The best way I've found to do that step so far is to assemble them all then put a dab of bbq sauce on the top of each before baking.
 
I recently made some poppers, but my own style. I cored a few jalapenos and put a touch of cream cheese on the inside. Then I took a mixture I made from sauteing onion, chopped turkey bacon, garlic and mexican spices to fill. And then finished the it off with a mexican cheese blend (the kraft package that says it was made with cream cheese). My grill was not available, so I stuck them in the oven until crisp.

My husband and I eat poppers/stuffed jalapenos wherever we go and he said they were the best he's had. (of course he could be required to say that!)
 
Peppers get rather soft and loose after freeing. This is generally not a problem if you're going to chop them up, but in the poppers recipe I think you'll discover the skins are too soft.

I've made a version of poppers where the peppers are cooked before putting on the grill, so the skins can be removed first; of course, this softens them. So I think freezing and then thawing and filling would work fine.
 
Poppers are a staple where I'm from -- those look great! I don't usually use bacon (we don't eat meat at our house) but when I'm making them for other people, I would most certainly use it! I'm thinking about the Christmas Eve appetizer party that we'll be having at our house this year ... oh, yeah. The family would love me forever!
 
I like to use a tempura batter. Keeps it nice and lite.;)

So you fill the jalapenos with cream cheese, wrap in bacon, then tempura batter them and fry, then make a sauce with crema, chipotle, lime juice and honey.

I just wanted to make sure I got that right. You know me--well I'm like most folks here--I'm always interested in a new recipe and new variations of recipes.

I have a cooking thing I do that I call transliteration. A simple example would be to take a chicken stir fry dish and turn it into a grilling recipe with the same sauce on the outside of the chicken pieces. Or I'll go the other direction and turn a whole piece recipe into a stir fry. It gets more complicated, taking a sauce from one recipe and the entree from a different recipe. I like to analyze recipes and identify modules, then swap the modules around with other recipes.

The jalapeno poppers have potential in being transliterated from an appetizer into an entree by the addition of some protein--beef, chicken, shrimp. Maybe the popper becomes the outside of the entree. Maybe it becomes the sauce. Maybe you make chicken Kiev and the popper becomes the stuffing.
 
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So you fill the jalapenos with cream cheese, wrap in bacon, then tempura batter them and fry, then make a sauce with crema, chipotle, lime juice and honey.

I just wanted to make sure I got that right. You know me--well I'm like most folks here--I'm always interested in a new recipe and new variations of recipes.

No bacon and no cream cheese. Stuffing is homemade Mexican style chorizo and a Mexican melting cheese normally. Stuffing could be whatever I'm in the mood for.;)

Although I love bacon, I'm not a fan of wrapping stuff in it. For example, I like my shrimp to taste like shrimp, not like bacon. I read how people wrap meatloaf and smoke it. Makes me wonder if it is done to hide the flavor of the meatloaf!:LOL:
 
O ye who lives in the land of milk and honey. Today I saw red colored jalapenos $5.99 / lb and green ones were 2.99/ lb. This was at a big box grocery. Now they are out of season. I usually buy them at a Mexican market, much more reasonable prices.
 
Although I love bacon, I'm not a fan of wrapping stuff in it. For example, I like my shrimp to taste like shrimp, not like bacon. I read how people wrap meatloaf and smoke it. Makes me wonder if it is done to hide the flavor of the meatloaf!:LOL:

Yeah, but... poppers are supposed to taste like bacon and cheese and jalapeno because that's what they are!! ;)

But there is no recipe around that isn't a stepping off point for diversions and dispersions... Every recipe got its beginnings in some other recipe combined with a creative chef.
 
O ye who lives in the land of milk and honey. Today I saw red colored jalapenos $5.99 / lb and green ones were 2.99/ lb. This was at a big box grocery. Now they are out of season. I usually buy them at a Mexican market, much more reasonable prices.

Holy ... cow! I've been seeing the greens for pounds a dollar.

I'd give a few extra bucks for a good supply of Hatch peppers...
 
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