My all time favorite game-day snack is jalapeño poppers. I LOVE jalapeño poppers! And bacon. And especially bacon jam. You can of course serve these with ranch or eat them plain, but there is just something about how the sweet, smoky bacon jam pairs with the slightly spicy and cheesy jalapenos. It's SO GOOD.
I won't pretend that these are healthy, but they are definitely worth using up a cheat meal. I made about 20 poppers this weekend and Kyle and I ate all of them in one sitting.
For this recipe, I halved the bacon jam, but I often make it will a whole package of bacon and just store the extra in the fridge to put on everything. I made a grilled cheese sandwich with Gruyere and bacon jam last night and it was to die for.
Best of all? The poppers are super quick and easy to make! The bacon jam takes a little bit longer to cook but is also super simple.
how to make homemade bourbon bacon jam
- Cut the bacon into small chunks and add to a medium sized cast iron or enameled skillet (you don't want to use a nonstick pan because then you won't get those super flavorful browned bits). Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until enough of the bacon fat has melted to thoroughly grease the pan.
- Add in the onion and garlic and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the bacon is crispy and the onions are caramelized (30-40 minutes). Try to avoid speeding up the process by turning up the heat; we want to cook this low and slow to give the onions time to properly caramelize.
- Once you have that crispy bacon and caramelized onions, add in the brown sugar and cook until fully dissolved (2-3 minutes). Bump the heat up to medium-high and add the bourbon and apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom. Continue stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated (2-3 minutes).
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. The bacon fat will solidify in the fridge, so just reheat in the microwave for intervals of 20 seconds to soften again.
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Jalapeño Poppers with Bacon Jam
Ingredients
Bacon Jam
- 12 ounce pack of bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup bourbon, optional
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Jalapeño Poppers
- 12 large jalapeños
- 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2-3 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)
- 2 green onions, diced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- dash salt and pepper
- ⅓ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
Instructions
Bacon Jam
- Cut the bacon into small chunks and add to a medium sized cast iron or enameled skillet (you don't want to use a nonstick pan because then you won't get those super flavorful browned bits). Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until enough of the bacon fat has melted to thoroughly grease the pan.
- Add in the onion and garlic and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the bacon is crispy and the onions are caramelized (30-40 minutes). Try to avoid speeding up the process by turning up the heat; we want to cook this low and slow to give the onions time to properly caramelize.
- Once you have that crispy bacon and caramelized onions, add in the brown sugar and cook until fully dissolved (2-3 minutes). Bump the heat up to medium-high and add the bourbon and apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom. Continue stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated (2-3 minutes).
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. The bacon fat will solidify in the fridge, so just reheat in the microwave for intervals of 20 seconds to soften again.
Jalapeño Poppers
- While the bacon jam is cooking, you can start the jalapeño poppers.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the jalapeños in half length wise. Use 2-3 halves to dice up and throw into the filling for an extra kick. I'm a wimp who doesn't like things to be super spicy, so I make sure to scrape all the seeds and membrane out of the inside of the peppers. But you can leave some behind if you're braver than me.
- For the filling, simply mix together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese (leave behind a little bit for sprinkling on top), crumbled bacon, green onions, cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper. Then portion generously into the halved peppers.
- For the panko mixture, just mix the melted butter into the panko breadcrumbs.Top the stuffed peppers with the remaining shredded cheese and panko mixture!
- Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Nutrition
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Paige C. says
These were so good! Will definitely make again!