Photos by Hillary Ehlen & Erica Rapp
This year’s tailgating recipes are bringing the heat with a perfect blend of creamy cheeses, spicy peppers and salty meats all wrapped up in a single flavor explosion. The secret to these seemingly complex fan-favorites is in the magic of stuffing.
Just a little prep-work the night before the big game and all you’ll have to do is start up the grill and let the flames do the rest. Serve up a few stuffed dishes for a flavor experience exploring multiple palette combinations. These recipes are courtesy of Sheldon Emil.
Stuffed Jalapeños
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- ½ medium onion chopped fine
- 1 package of cream cheese
- 1 bag of shredded cheese (Mexican blend)
- Precooked bacon–usually 15 pieces per box, cut in half (2-3 boxes in total)
- 40-50 jalapeños
Directions
Cut off the tops and core out the insides of the jalapeños. Poke some holes in the bottom of the peppers so they can drain while cooking.
Brown the sausage down and season. Add the onions while browning. Also, finely chop up a piece or two of the bacon and add. Let cool.
Microwave the cream cheese until soft and mix it with the shredded cheese and sausage. Once mixed together, put the mixture into a gallon bag and snip a corner. Squeeze the mixture into the inside of the jalapeños.
Wrap a piece of bacon over the top of the jalapeño and secure with a toothpick. Use precooked bacon for a crispier result.
Place on the grill until the bacon crisps and the peppers turn slightly soft (recommended grilling with jalapeño rack).
Stuffed Pork Loin
Ingredients
- Whole pork loin
- Butter or olive oil
- Italian seasoning
- Mango habanero
- BBQ sauce
Directions
- Fillet out a pork loin approximately ½ inch thick.
- Rub inside with either butter or olive oil.
- Season with favorite pork seasoning, Tuscan Sunset by Penzeys Spices for example.
- Prepare stuffing with an herb-flavored breading and layer it inside, leaving 1/2 to 1 inch away from the edge of the meat.
- Roll up the pork loin with stuffing inside and tie up.
- Season the outside, then wrap it and let it sit for a couple of hours, or overnight.
- Slow cook the pork loin on indirect heat at 350-375 degrees until meat is 155 degrees (about 45 minutes).
- For the last 15 minutes, baste the pork with a mango habanero BBQ sauce.
- Pull and rest for 10-15 minutes, then cut and serve.
