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Chorizo and Medjool Dates Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers Recipe
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Chorizo and Medjool Dates-Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers Recipe

These Chorizo and Medjool Dates-Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers are the first poppers I have ever created - or even tried! - that I felt would be right at home on the menu of almost any fine dining restaurant.There is a very good reason for that...
Prep Time1 hour
Active Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Keyword: Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers Recipe

Ingredients (See Box Above, "IMPORTANT - About Our Recipes" for Information about Quantities)

  • Jalapeño Peppers
  • Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
  • Cream Cheese
  • Medjool Dates about 1 date per every 6 jalapeño poppers (If you prefer a much sweeter, stickier popper, increase this to 2 or more. But be careful - A little date flavor goes a long way - for me, anyway.)
  • Spanish-Style Chorizo Sausage See Note 1 below
  • Bacon for wrapping
  • Large grain raw Turbinado Sugar to sprinkle
  • 2 tablespoons Oil for cooking
  • 4 cloves Garlic peeled and thinly sliced
  • 4 Shallots peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 jar Roasted Piquillo Peppers drained (or use any Roasted Red Peppers, drained) (See Note 2 below)
  • 1 14.5- ounce can good-quality Tomatoes or equivalent homemade canned Tomatoes, if you are lucky enough to have some.
  • Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Cut the jalapeños into a boat or canoe cut. (Click the links above to see how to do a Boat Cut or a Canoe Cut.)
  • Place the jalapeños on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in preheated oven. Cook for about 10 minutes. (Skip this step if you prefer your finished jalapeños to be more raw and crunchy.)
  • While jalapeños are cooking, remove the seeds from the Madjool dates. Roughly chop into small pieces.
  • Place chorizo sausage in a small bowl.
  • Add date pieces and mix well. Set aside.
  • Remove jalapeños from oven and allow to cool slightly so you can handle them.
  • Add cream cheese to each jalapeño to cover the bottom, leaving a concave "well" to place other ingredients. (Click the link above to see pictures of this step, if the instructions are unclear to you.) Set jalapeños aside.
  • Form a small bit of the chorizo mixture with your hands to fit into a jalapeño. Continue with all jalapeños.
  • Wrap each jalapeño with bacon.
  • Place jalapeños back on cookie sheet.
  • Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Set aside.
  • In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.
  • Add garlic and shallots. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
  • Add peppers and tomatoes. Reduce heat and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
  • Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Allow the sauce to cool slightly.
  • Then purée the sauce until almost smooth but still with some body. (Think thin salsa texture.) (A handheld immersion blender works great, but a countertop blender is fine.) Set aside.

When Ready to Serve

  • Place the jalapeños in the oven and reheat the sauce, to warm, on the stove top.
  • Cook jalapeños, watching closely, until bacon is done, about 15 - 20 minutes. Check to make sure jalapeños and bacon are done to your liking. If not, place back in oven for more time.
  • Remove from oven.
  • Divide the sauce among small plates.
  • Add 1 - 4 jalapeños to the sauce.
  • Serve hot.
Note 1 - Make sure to buy uncured, fresh chorizo sausage rather than the salami-like cured kind.
Note 2 - Specialty stores generally carry jars of piquillo peppers, but if you can’t find them, substitute any roasted red peppers for the sauce.