Author Notes
There are variations of this out and about, but this is my spicy favorite - a nice balance of smoky, sweet, savory & spicy. People love these ‘hot kisses’ and if the jalapenos aren't too mild, they leave that nice warm buzz on your lips.
They are a bit of a pain to make (literally if you don’t wear protective gloves!), but worth it for special occasions. I make them almost every July for my brother Paul’s birthday. I usually cook them on a gas grill, but they can be done under the broiler.
—Queen of Spoons
Ingredients
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24
medium to large fresh jalapenos
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24
medium (21-25) peeled & deveined shrimp
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24
slices apple smoked (or other slightly sweet) bacon
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8 ounces
goat cheese
Directions
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Plan to pre-heat the grill or the broiler about 15 minutes before finishing the preparation. Medium heat for grill and not too close broiler element.
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Cut the goat cheese into 24 small oblong pieces, ~1" long. Place in freezer while preparing shrimp & jalapenos.
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While wearing latex kitchen gloves, just barely cut the stem top off & core the fresh jalapenos. To do this, you will need to cut a single slice almost the length of the pepper on only one side, but stopping just short of the pointy bottom. An easy way to core the jalapenos without special tools, is to hold it in one hand and rotate a butter knife down the center of the pepper.
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Stuff & wrap each pepper: Tuck a piece of goat cheese and one shrimp in each pepper; then wrap a slice of bacon around covering the whole pepper. Anchor bacon in place with two toothpicks as skewers.
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Cook ~10 minutes, turning several times. The time is very imprecise, because of the variance in grill or broiler temp. You want it hot enough to cook quickly, but slow enough to cook, not blacken the bacon. They are done when the bacon is nice and caramelized.
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These are hard to let cool enough to eat, but are good at room temp. Hot, creamy, smoky and a little sweet, no-one can eat just one.
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