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Today’s Sandwich: “Jalapeno Popper” Grilled Cheese (Homemade)

by Malcolm Bedell on May 6, 2011

With today’s sandwich, I wanted to recreate the flavors of a jalapeno popper, that bar-food staple appetizer. In the restaurant version, jalapeno peppers are stuffed with cream cheese, battered, and deep fried. It’s a perfectly spicy, creamy accompaniment to, say, a dozen pints of beer. I felt like a direct translation of jalapeno poppers into grilled cheese form would be a little too mild, though, so I made some substitutions. The crunch of the bread, the creamy, lightly tart chevre, the salty bacon, the spicy jalapeno, and the sweet tang of the apricot jam all balance each other perfectly, into a sandwich that has almost every type of flavor happening all at once, confusing your mouth and warming your belly. It’s intensely rich and satisfying, and I want you to make one. Here’s how it goes:

“Jalapeno Popper” Grilled Cheese
Makes one giant sandwich, serves two

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices sourdough bread
  • 2 ounces chevre
  • 4 slices crisp-fried bacon
  • 3 whole fresh jalapeno peppers
  • 1 tablespoon apricot preserves
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Method:

Slice each jalapeno in half lengthwise, and remove stem, ribs and seeds. Place cut-side-down on a baking sheet, and broil until skins blacken and blister, about five minutes. Remove jalapenos from broiler, and transfer immediately into a plastic bag or other sealed container. Seal and let steam until cool enough to handle, about 10-20 minutes. Remove blackened skins by pinching them between your thumb and forefinger, and discard.

Spread one of the slices of bread with the chevre. Top with roasted jalapeno peppers, then bacon. Spread the other piece of bread with the apricot preserves, and add to sandwich. Butter each side of the sandwich, and toast in saucepan over medium heat until bread is toasted, about 2-3 minutes a side.


About the Author:

My first memories of cooking start in Maine at six years old, when I wore a yellow rainslicker to avoid getting spattered by the bacon I was frying in a skillet. My interest in both Mexican cooking and recreating classic New England dishes from scratch developed while living in Mexico, on a steady diet of pork and habanero peppers. You can see more of my writing and photography online on Serious Eats, the Huffington Post, BlogHer, and Foodista, as well as in print for Downeast, Indulge, and Cigar Snob magazines.

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

Stephanie May 6, 2011 at 5:30 pm

This sounds like a marriage made in heaven , you are a saint – thank you! Off to the shops…

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Malcolm May 6, 2011 at 5:40 pm

Be sure to let us know how it turns out!

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Kristen May 7, 2011 at 12:19 am

I will be trying this! Even though I can’t cook I make a pretty mean Grilled cheese!

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Elsa May 7, 2011 at 8:15 pm

Apricot jam, hmm? I make something a bit like this (but with black beans and without bacon). It never occurred to me to try a sweet spread, but it makes perfect sense as a foil to the spicy peppers and creamy cheese. I’ll give it a whirl!

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Malcolm May 8, 2011 at 4:52 pm

Black beans, you say? Sounds amazing! Definitely try adding some jam…I like the sweet contrast.

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Anne May 8, 2011 at 6:13 pm

Drool. Need I say more? LOL

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Amanda May 9, 2011 at 10:20 pm

Made this for dinner tonight. I’m a self proclaimed grilled cheese junkie. LOVED this recipe. Ahhh-mazing!

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Malcolm May 9, 2011 at 10:58 pm

I’m so glad to hear it turned out well! Thanks for reading!

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Stephanie May 12, 2011 at 1:32 am

This is a winner! I had a few hiccups, as living in Australia now I am dealing with a different style of bacon and sourdough, and fresh jalepenos are a rarity. I’m wondering if you used spreadable chevre…or maybe I should have had mine room temperature (of course in the end it matters not). So, I removed the “Canadian bacon” end of the long rasher and fried up the bacon “tails”, and used a comination of roasted long red chilies and jalepenos from a jar. Aussies are big on apricots so that was no worries. The bread was sliced a bit thin (should have done it myself), and you had to close your eyes and think of Otis Redding to imagine it as real sourdough, but boy, in the end the Jalepeno Popper was a little ripper!

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Malcolm May 12, 2011 at 9:25 am

We used regular chevre, but brought to room temperature before assembling the sandwich. I’m happy to hear you soldiered on and found a way to make this work, Stephanie. It sounds like your “bacon” solution may have been even better than ours!

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Jessica May 17, 2011 at 10:18 am

These were delicious! I couldn’t find chevre, so I researched possible substitutes and ended up using feta, which was great! My husband said they could be a little spicier, but I loved them!

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Malcolm May 17, 2011 at 10:25 am

Glad to hear it! You can control their spice levels by leaving more of the ribs and seeds in the jalapenos. Roasting them also softens their heat; you could always try them raw, but I like the texture of the roasted version.

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Karen June 11, 2011 at 9:36 am

The sandwich sounds great. I have six jalapeño plants growing in my garden. I can’t wait for the first peppers so that I can recreate your sandwich.

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Malcolm June 14, 2011 at 11:08 am

Mmmmmm…fresh, garden-grown jalapenos will make it even better!

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Lesley Frenz July 3, 2011 at 9:16 pm

Made these for my husband tonight and they were a huge hit! This will be in our regular recipe rotation. Thanks for an easy, tasty sandwich!

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Heather Malotke August 21, 2011 at 5:43 pm

We made these for lunch today and they were a big hit. My 12 year old son says, “We are WAY making those again!” :) I also shared the link on Facebook, where a lot of people are waiting to hear how our lunch turned out. Thanks for the great recipe.

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Laurie Cron January 3, 2012 at 11:13 am

We made these last night….WOW! It is going to be very difficult to make as an occasional treat because it was so delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

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Malcolm January 4, 2012 at 4:22 pm

Glad to hear they were a hit at your house, Laurie!

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Ted December 18, 2012 at 8:16 am

This sounds like a real winner…looking forward to enjoying this gem! Thanks for sharing!

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