Smoked jalapeño peppers stuffed with goodies are an amazing appetizer and this version stuffed with a jumbo shrimp and a cream cheese mixture take things to a whole new level.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Hot Smoking
Prep Time 1 hourhour
Cook Time 3 hourshours
Total Time 4 hourshours
Servings 6
Author Jeff Phillips
Ingredients
Jalapeño peppersEach pepper makes 2
8ouncescream cheesemakes enough mixture for about 20 stuffed peppers
1cupof shredded cheddar
Jeff's original rub
1lbshrimpJumbo or 21/25 pieces per pound
1lbof thin or original sliced baconthe kind I use has 13 slices and allows me to wrap 26 peppers
Instructions
Prepare Shrimp
Remove shells from shrimp
Put the shrimp down into a ziptop bag with about ¼ cup of Jeff's original rub and shake/roll to coat.
Place bag of shrimp in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to marinate
Prepare Jalapeño Peppers
Cut peppers in half lengthwise
Remove seeds and veins completely
Prepare Cream Cheese Mixture
Mix 8 ounces of cream cheese with 1 cup of shredded cheddar and 3 TBS of Jeff's original rub
Mix well to combine ingredients
Stuffing the Peppers
Lay marinated shrimp into pepper half
Make partial cuts into the body of the shrimp to help it lay flat
Stuff cream cheese mixture over the top and sides of the shrimp to fill pepper half
Wrap half strips of bacon around stuffed pepper halves
Smoking the Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers
Set up smoker for cooking at about 225°F
Place stuffed peppers directly on smoker grate
Smoke with pecan wood (or other smoking wood) for about 3 hours or until peppers are soft
For crispy bacon, place peppers under oven broiler for a few minutes watching them closely