I love grilled stuffed jalapeños, but I’m a spice lover, and stuffed jalapeños just aren’t spicy. First, you take a jalapeño, which for me is a really mild pepper to begin with, then you take out the seeds and membrane, removing 90% of the heat. Then, you stuff it with fat, like cheese and bacon as I did here, which cuts the heat, and you either roast them, or bread and fry them, taking away more heat, and what you have is a tasty, but not spicy, treat.

But what, thought I, if you added habaneros? Now that’s an idea. So, I added two sliced (but de-seeded) habaneros to 6 large jalapeños. The result was actually still pretty mild to me, but did have a bit of a kick, and had all the great flavor of a roasted jalapeño, but also with the distinctive fruity spice of the habanero.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• 6 large jalapeño peppers. Fatter, straight peppers are the best for stuffing. Cored.
• 2 habanero peppers, seeded and sliced into strips
• 2 slices of cooked bacon, sliced into strips small enough to fit in the jalapeños
• 3 ounces of cream cheese, softened at room temperature (sliced cheddar works great too!)

Directions:

• Core the jalapeños. I got this nifty kit as a present, including a specialty tool, but carefully using a pairing kife works fine
• Insert 2-3 habanero strips and 2-3 bacon strips into each jalapeño
• Using your finger, the fat end of a chopstick, or a small spoon, fill with cream cheese
• If using cheddar cheese, just fill with a few thicker strips, they’ll melt while on the grill
• Push another couple habanero strips and bacon strips into each jalapeño
• Put jalapeños on a grill under indirect medium heat. If you don’t have this cool stand, just mold one using aluminum foil.
• Cook for 15-20 minutes, until peppers start to darken and soften