Ingredients:
- 25 jalapeno peppers
- 1 package of Country Boy Pork Sausage
- 1 tablespoon of Amazin’ Cajun, Amazin’ Flamin’ Cajun, Amazin’ MexiCajun, or Amazin’ Blazin’ Cajun Seasoning from Heaven Made Products (or your favorite Cajun seasoning)
- 1 package of thin-cut hickory-smoked Corn King bacon
- 1 pound of Mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
Directions:
1. First, you’ll want to rinse the jalapenos in hot water. Cut them in half, leaving the stems on. Scrape and discard as much of the seeds and white pith as you like, but leave enough to keep the BITE. The more seeds and pith you leave the hotter the BITE! I call those with a lot of seeds and pith “alligator bites with teeth” and those without much seeds and pith “alligator bites without teeth”.
2. Place the jalapeno halves side by side in a large metal baking pan with the cut edges facing up. Fill up the whole pan with jalapenos, so they touch each other. This will make it easy to top them with cheese at the end.
3. Sprinkle a small amount of Heaven Made Cajun seasoning (or your favorite) into each jalapeno half. (These seasonings are less salty and more flavorful than any other Cajun seasonings.)
4. Split each sausage into four slivers. Then cut the length of the sausage slivers to fit the peppers. (You can pick up Country Boy Pork Sausage at Wal-Mart.)
5. Stuff each pepper with a sliver of sausage.
6. Now it’s time for the bacon. Corn King bacon really makes the Bites taste wonderful, but you can use your favorite thin-cut hickory-smoked bacon. Cut the package of bacon into four sections, separate the pieces, and place one piece over each jalapeno the long way.
7. These are delicious cooked in the smoker, grill, or even the kitchen oven. If you’re cooking in the oven, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, then cook them for about 20 minutes or until the bacon is cooked.
If you’re cooking these in your smoker (like you should be :-), it’s fine to crank up from a low and slow to about 300 degrees. Cook them until the bacon is done.
8. Drain the grease into a heat-proof bowl and save the drippings to pour over rice. (Very delicious!)
9. While the Bites are cooking, shred your favorite cheese. (We use Monterey Jack.) Once they are almost done cooking, set the pan on a heat-resistant surface. Cover all of the jalapenos with a layer of cheese. Put the Bites back into the cooker/oven for another five minutes or so. It doesn’t hurt if you let the cheese bubble and brown a little.
10. Remove the pan and let them cool for a few minutes, then dig in. Yum! Yum! Yum!
This article is part of Issue 1 of StoryQue magazine.
