Campfire Jalapeño Poppers
Halved jalapeños, a cheese filling that survives a cooler, bacon, and a grate over coals.
- calories
- 290
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 64
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 50 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Jalapeños | 8 large | pick fat ones, they hold more filling |
|---|---|---|
| Cream cheese | 8 oz block | let it come to camp temperature before mixing |
| Bacon | 16 strips | thin cut, thick cut will not crisp before the pepper burns |
| Pineapple | 1 cup, finely diced | canned tidbits, drained, work as well as fresh |
| Green onions | 2, sliced | |
| Toothpicks | 16 |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down to coals. You want steady heat under the grate, not flames.
- Halve the jalapeños lengthwise. Scrape the seeds and ribs out with a spoon.
- Stir the cream cheese, pineapple, and green onion together in a bowl or a zip bag with a corner cut off.
- Fill each half, wrap it in a strip of bacon, and pin the bacon down with a toothpick.
- Set the grate over the coals and cook in two batches, turning often, 10 to 15 minutes. Drips will flare, so keep a spatula moving.
- Pull them when the bacon has gone crisp and the peppers have slumped. Let them sit five minutes or the filling will take skin off.
This is a car-camping recipe and it stays one. Cream cheese and bacon both need a cooler, and there is no shelf-stable version worth eating, so the honest move is to keep it in the cooler and cook it the first night or two.
The filling does two jobs. Fat and sugar cut the capsaicin, which is why the pineapple matters more than it sounds like it should. The bacon wrap is structural as much as anything else: it holds the cheese in while the pepper softens and gives you something to grab with tongs. Coals rather than flame is the whole game here, since bacon fat dripping into a live fire will char the outside long before the pepper gives up.
Packing
Dice the pineapple and slice the onions at home and bag them together. Cream cheese, bacon, and peppers ride in the cooler; toothpicks in the same bag as the peppers so you do not hunt for them.
Variations
- Swap the pineapple for a spoonful of apricot jam if you want the sweetness without the chopping.
- No bacon: brush the filled halves with oil and cook them cut side up, no flipping.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/grilled-jalapeno-poppers-0