Jalapeno Popper for One

[dragnlaw]

Made this today. Did two peppers, took one upstairs, approved by son, DIL not home yet so the jury is out there.
I personally was a little worried they were going to be super hot as I could get a bit of a sting in the back of my throat while they were cooking... Yikes!
But my son approved (and he's not into really hot) and I also approve, actually mine was cooler when I tried and was not hot for sure. Perhaps it would have been spicier while still warm?? Certainly on the list for appetizers.
Original recipe says to cut off the tops but I left them on as I wanted the stems to be able to grab them. Glad I did. Even tho they were 2 - 3 bites, I would still consider them finger food. With the top off I think they might have been too soft. Or mayhap it was the cream cheese I used as it was a very very soft one.

Recipe from onedishkitchen... Jalapeno Popper for Two

 

[Aunt Bea]

Thanks,

I will definitely give these a try.

I think the stuffing would be nice for baby Bella mushrooms too!

Or heated in a ramekin for a dip!

 

[caseydog]

View attachment 68456
Made this today. Did two peppers, took one upstairs, approved by son, DIL not home yet so the jury is out there.
I personally was a little worried they were going to be super hot as I could get a bit of a sting in the back of my throat while they were cooking... Yikes!
But my son approved (and he's not into really hot) and I also approve, actually mine was cooler when I tried and was not hot for sure. Perhaps it would have been spicier while still warm?? Certainly on the list for appetizers.
Original recipe says to cut off the tops but I left them on as I wanted the stems to be able to grab them. Glad I did. Even tho they were 2 - 3 bites, I would still consider them finger food. With the top off I think they might have been too soft. Or mayhap it was the cream cheese I used as it was a very very soft one.

Recipe from onedishkitchen... Jalapeno Popper for Two

Cutting the tops off was probably suggested to remove the placenta, which is the membrane nearest the stem which holds the seeds in place. That membrane is the hottest part of a pepper, because it has the most capsaicin??? The author of the recipe you linked got it half right. The most heat is in the white membrane, but then she also includes the seeds. Wrong, wrong, wrong!!! Although, when you remove the membranes, the seeds are going to come with it.

Ignore anyone who tells you the heat is in the seeds, that is a myth, the seeds have virtually no capsaicin.
The reasons that I remove seeds is that they are bitter, and they get stuck between teeth.

I have grown jalapeños for years, and they vary in heat a lot. In my case, the ones I harvest in the spring months have barely any heat. The ones I harvest in the fall are scorchers.

If you want to test your japs, slice the very tip of the pepper, on the opposite end from the seed. Eat that raw. If that is hot, but not too hot, the rest should be bearable (or perfect for me). If that little tip is too hot for you, the other end of the pepper is going to beat you up. You will want to scrape out as much of those white "ribs" inside as you can.

Another tip from Texas... capsaicin is soluble by citric acid and by alcohol. That's why cold margaritas are so good with hot peppers, especially if you use fresh squeezed lime juice.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

Aunt Bea, I like your idea! Maybe next time I'll use slightly less longer peppers and also not stuff them quite as full as I did. Did that for a reason actually as I knew the cheese would act as a buffer should the pepper be too hot.
So some for the peppers and some for the caps.

Thanks Casey. Good to know. I've always been super careful with the seeds and always made sure none got left hanging around to accidently be incorporated. Now I'll not worry too much. Of course, your house had better be dragon proof should I discover otherwise...
It may be coming on up Spring but I have to say I don't know if these pepper are imported or hot house - so what would that make them? Hot house would be ??? hot-mild-indifferent?
And more questions for you (or anyone who has an answer/opinion, please)
Do they lose heat with cooking? or with a specific type of cooking?
Do they lose heat with age? (like a week or more in the fridge).

 

[pepperhead212]

I don't notice heat loss in peppers in storage, except for freezing a long time. I do notice, however, jalapeños vary greatly in heat, depending on the variety. There's no way of telling if a batch of jalapeños is a hot or mild one, until you sample it! And so many varieties have had much of the heat bred out, to make them more suitable for poppers, for more people. An old fashioned jalapeño made into a popper would be too hot for many, if not most.

 

[caseydog]

Aunt Bea, I like your idea! Maybe next time I'll use slightly less longer peppers and also not stuff them quite as full as I did. Did that for a reason actually as I knew the cheese would act as a buffer should the pepper be too hot.
So some for the peppers and some for the caps.

Thanks Casey. Good to know. I've always been super careful with the seeds and always made sure none got left hanging around to accidently be incorporated. Now I'll not worry too much. Of course, your house had better be dragon proof should I discover otherwise...
It may be coming on up Spring but I have to say I don't know if these pepper are imported or hot house - so what would that make them? Hot house would be ??? hot-mild-indifferent?
And more questions for you (or anyone who has an answer/opinion, please)
Do they lose heat with cooking? or with a specific type of cooking?
Do they lose heat with age? (like a week or more in the fridge).

The peppers (and a lot of other produce) I get here come from Mexico.

Jalapeños in particular have a wide range of heat. They can be 2,000 Scoville units, or 10,000. As I mentioned, my home grown japs were always very mild with the first harvest, and scorching hot at the end of the season, which was near October, here.

As for cooking them, they don't get hotter themselves, but they will make a dish hotter overnight, as the capsaicin spreads through the food. I make a potato salad with finely diced jalapeños in it, and right after I make the salad, it is pretty mild. After sitting in the fridge overnight, the potato salad is a lot hotter. So, in that kind of situation, always make your dish a little weaker than you like if it will sit overnight.

I have not noticed any decrease in heat with age. I freeze my surplus peppers (jalapeños and cayennes), and they get very soft, but there is no loss in heat. I also dry them. Dried jalapeños become chipotles. I make my own chili powder with pan toasted chipotles and anchos (dried poblanos). Chili peppers do seem to get hotter when you dry them, from my own experience. My homemade chili powder packs a punch.

CD

 

[Badjak]

I think cold food is generally milder than hot. Probably something to do with activating your tastebuds or so.

Big one for me:
I think a lot of the heat of chili's, mustard etc disappears when cooking over wood or charcoal. Somehow I struggle to get a nice hot piri piri chicken if I don't add a little heat after grilling

 

[dragnlaw]

Good to know people. I remember the one time I grew a few jalapenos at the farm they were not too hot. Did one plant here in thown (and got ONE jalapeno LOL) and it was very very hot!

Addition to potato salad? Yum!!. will remember that.

I have in my freezer some tiny Bird pepper (reds) I use maybe one at a time, rarely two. Tiny as they are I split them and try to scrap out some of the centres, then I mince them fine to add to whatever. Works for me, They are plenty hot as far as I'm concerned. Often the recipe calls for 4,6 or a lot more, but I'm good with one or two. - And they must be almost 7(?) years old now and still very hot.
I bought a huge package form the Asian Market, not know just quite how hot Thai Bird Chilies were. ooops! So I froze them. As said.... works for me!

The 3 peppers I use the most are 1. Jalapeno 2. Poblano 3. Thai Bird

Certainly don't make my own. Have a jar of chili powder that will probably last me 5 years or more.

 

[msmofet]

One DD doesn't like hot. I think I will make with those mini multicolored peppers or mushrooms. Thank you!

 

[dragnlaw]

Another great idea! thanks msmofet!