My super secret/super excellent stuffed pepper recipe

[ISPKI]

This probably belongs in the contrib forum, but, I am posting my awesome secret stuffed pepper recipe that I learned from my Fiance's grandfather - Mountainman Steve. These things will be a hit at any party.

The recipe has fairly simple ingredients;

Large Cherry peppers
Orange Juide
Cream Cheese
Shredded cheese (Usually of the pepper jack veriety)
boar's head smoked bacon

First, you must cut a circle out of the top of the pepper around the stem, large enough to stuff the filling, but small enough to hold it all in.

Second, shave a small amount off the bottom. Make sure it is flat so that the pepper will sit upright without falling over. Also - Do not cut a hole in the bottom! You will lose all the cheese!

Three, Cut out the seeds and membrane inside. The more you cut out, the less heat you will have later. Keep in mind, these peppers can very hot, and I find that you will want to cut out alot of that heat.

Four, Place all the cored peppers with hole facing up in a large bowl and pour orange juice over them, until they are completely submerged. Then, let them sit in the fridge for at least several hours.

*I let my peppers sit for about two days. They pick up some tangy flavor from the orange juice and it cuts out alot of the heat, making it easier for people to enjoy.*

Five, While the peppers are soaking, mix the shredded cheeses and cream cheese together and cook the bacon. You will want to cook the bacon just before you take the peppers out, so that it is still hot when you start stuffing.

Six, stuff the peppers with the cheese. Sometimes I stick a chunk of bacon inside first, and fill the cheese after. Other times, I fill the cheese and just place the bacon on top, I think it looks fancier that way, but, they are easier to eat with the bacon inside.

Seven, Place the stuffed peppers in the bacon grease for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are scorched.

Eight, after scorching, place the peppers in the oven with the temp fairly high for about 15 minutes. This is not a required step, you can enjoy the peppers without baking, and they are just as good that way. Baking melts the cheese inside and blends the bacon into the cheese more, however, the peppers will need to cool off before eating.

[ISPKI]

This can serve many people for a relatively low cost. I get my peppers from a friend of mine who has an awesome farm in town. He is an old fashioned fella who does not use fertilizer or pesticides and his cherry peppers are HUGE and tasty. I get them for 2.99$. The cheeses cost about 6$, the orange juice costs 3$ and the bacon costs around 6$. Most people can only handle a couple of these, and they are very filling. In fact, before I wrote this, I ate 4 of them and was full.

One thing I like about this, is that you can freeze these for long periods of time and they will not lose their flavor. In fact, mountainman steve thinks they taste better after being frozen.

[Punisher11]

freeze after completing, or freeze around step 6?

ill be making this for guests soon, thanks

[ISPKI]

Either will work. It depends on how you want the bacon to come out. If you freeze after completing, you will want to bake them before serving to liquify the bacon grease. These are also really good with proscuto instead of bacon.

[ISPKI]

2012-09-22_01-52-29_162.jpg

Here is a photo of my latest batch. Will be heading to my friend's farm to pick several more pounds of peppers before the frost hits.

[Punisher11]

have you tried this with jarred peppers?

[ISPKI]

Its not the same. They dont have the same fresh spicey pepper flavor that these have. I just went by the farm and picked up 16lbs of these things. Gotta get stuffing!