POPPERS US RECIPES

Steps:

• Divide sausage into 10 equal portions; press 1 portion around each popper, covering completely. Roll in cracker crumbs. Place on a wire rack in a jelly-roll pan.
• Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Drain briefly on paper towels. Cut in half before serving.
• Homemade Variation: Substitute 2 (7-oz.) cans pickled whole jalapeño peppers, drained, for frozen poppers. Cut stem ends off each jalapeño pepper. Remove and discard seeds and membranes. Place 1/2 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened, in a zip-top plastic bag. Seal bag, and snip a small hole in 1 corner of bag. Pipe cream cheese into hollowed peppers. Cover stuffed peppers evenly with sausage as directed, making sure each pepper is completely covered by sausage so that cheese is sealed inside. Continue preparing and baking stuffed peppers as directed in Steps 1 and
• Note: For testing purposes only, we used Poppers Cream Cheese Jalapeños and La Costeña Green Pickled Jalapeño Peppers.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil, then top with a wire rack.
• Halve jalapeños lengthwise. (Do your best to halve them through their stems for added visual appeal.) Using the tip of a small spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds. Set the halved jalapeños aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, cilantro, scallions, garlic and lime zest, if using; season generously with salt and pepper.
• Season the inside of each halved jalapeño with salt and pepper, then fill each with about 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture. (Fill until there’s a slight dome on top.) Wrap each stuffed jalapeño with 1 piece of bacon, setting one tip of bacon on top of the cream cheese filling, then wrapping the bacon under and over the popper at an angle, so the bacon covers the filling on top in two layers. (The bacon will shrink as it cooks, so you want to make sure the top of the popper is well covered.) Arrange poppers evenly on the wire rack, nestling each popper between two parallel wires to keep it upright so the cream cheese doesn’t spill during baking.
• Transfer to the oven, and bake until bacon is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Broil on the rack closest to the broiler until crisp, about 2 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve warm.