Pickled Jalapeños ~ Poppers with Chipotle Raspberry Sauce

Pickled jalapeños takes another level of sting out of this spicy pepper while enhancing its earthy flavor.  When you stuff them with herb cream cheese, wrap them in bacon and roast them in the oven, you get an irresistible smokey snack.

Kick it up a notch by add another layer of flavor with this savory red raspberry sauce.  It's still fruity but the touch of chipotle makes it deep and smokey.

How to Make Pickled Jalapeños for your poppers

I first had these when I worked at the Firefly Grill.  They pickled them in large quantities, stuffed them with herb infused cream cheese, wrapped them in bacon and refrigerated them.  Then they'd oven roast them to order.  Oh yum!

Each time an order would come up, the kitchen (already filled with wonderful aromas of fresh baked bread, searing scallops, and simmer stock pot) would light up with scents of smoky bacon and tangy peppers.  I knew then, I had to recreate this at home.

Start by prepping your jalapeños

• Wearing gloves, slice off the stem and ¼ inch of the top of 8 jalapeño peppers
• Slice the jalapeños in ½ long ways and scrape out the veins and seeds

Important Tips when working with Jalapeños

After reading these tips and words of caution, you may wonder if the risk is worth it.  Personally, I love these little buggers.  So, yes, I'd say it's worth it.

1. Use gloves.  I'm serious.  First time I deveined jalapeños I didn't wear gloves and my hands were on FIRE for HOURS.
2. You didn't use gloves and now your hands are on fire, NOW WHAT??? Wash your hands with soap, then soak them in milk, yogurt, sour cream or heavy cream.
3. Do NOT touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth while deveining these peppers.
4. Using a large bowl full of water, submerge the pepper while you scrape out the veins and seeds.  This will keep the burning oils from escaping into the air.  Breathing them can cause you to cough and your lungs and throat to burn.
5. Use a mask or bandana to cover your nose and mouth while deveining.

Making Pickled Jalapeños

1. In a sauce pot, combine 2 cups water, 1 cup apple cider (or white) vinegar, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon pepper corns, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon salt.
2. Heat brine until salt and sugar dissolve.  Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Let the brine cool to room temperature and submerge jalapenos.  If the brine doesn't completely cover them, add equal parts water and vinegar until it does.
4. Let jalapeños sit in brine for at least 5 hours and up to 3 days.

Make the Poppers

1. Take the jalapenos out of the brine, rinse them and let them air dry.
2. Mix ¼ cup fresh chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano) with 8 ounces soften cream cheese.
3. Stuff cream cheese mixture into peppers.
4. Wrap with ½ slice raw bacon and secure with toothpick.
5. Roast in a 400F oven until bacon is browned, about 15 minutes.

Kick it up with Chipotle Raspberry Dipping Sauce

Below is an affiliate link to Amazon for one of my favorite cookbooks.  If you click on it and buy it, I'll get a very small commission.

I got this idea while cooking out of my favorite chef's cookbooks: Justin Warners The Laws of Cooking and How to Break Them.  He's got this killer recipe for apricot habanero chicken wings.  That got me thinking about his law of Peanut Butter and Jelly... fruity + spicy + fat = Da Bomb!

1. Mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 cup cold water.  Set this aside.
2. Put 1 (12 ounce) bag of frozen raspberries into a sauce pot and stir over medium heat until they have thawed and it becomes juicy.
3. Whisk in the cornstarch and water mixture.  Increase the temperature to medium/high.
4. Continue to stir until the sauce starts to boil and thickens, about 3 minutes.
5. Then lower the heat and add ⅓ cup sugar, the juice of 2 limes, and ½ teaspoon of Chipotle sauce.  I use a little of the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
6. Stir until the sugar as completely dissolved.
7. Pour the raspberry sauce into a strainer over a mixing bowl and press the juice through with a spatula.

Warner's recipe also made me think of Chef Niall's elk steaks with wild blueberry reduction.  I had the fat (bacon and cream cheese) and the spicy (jalapeno).  All I needed was the fruit... Yes, raspberry!

This created a delicious balance of salty, fruity, smokey, crisp and creamy.  Heaven!