Smoked Rabbit Jalapeno Poppers
Brined and seasoned whole rabbit smoked over direct heat, loaded into fresh jalapenos along with the cheesiest filling before being wrapped in bacon and smoked again. Don’t have any wild rabbit laying around? Use chicken thighs!
Smoked Rabbit Jalapeno Poppers
16
Poppers30
minutes2
hours30
minutesIngredients
- Rabbit Poppers
1 Whole rabbit
8 Fresh jalapenos
16 strips Bacon (regular cut)
6 slices Colby Jack cheese
Wet brine
Dry rub (salt free)
Mop sauce
Cream cheese filling
Brown sugar glaze (optional)
- Wet Brine
1/2 gallon Water
1/2 cup Dill pickle juice
1/4 cup White sugar
6 Tablespoons Kosher salt
4 cloves Garlic, smashed
- Dry Rub (Salt free)
1 Tablespoon Black pepper
1 Tablespoon Smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoon Onion powder
1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
- Mop Sauce
1/2 stick Butter
1 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Pineapple juice
1/8 cup Soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Hot sauce
- Cream Cheese Filling
16 oz Cream cheese (room temperature)
3 Tablespoons Green onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons BBQ seasoning (any pork or poultry BBQ seasoning or rub will work well)
3 dashes Hot sauce
- Brown Sugar Glaze (optional)
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1 cup Water
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
Directions
- Rabbit Poppers
- Trim any weird or dangly bits of fat or tissue from rabbit. Submerge in brine mixture for between 8 and 24 hours.
- Rinse rabbit off with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Season heavily with salt-free dry rub, making sure to cover all surfaces and sides.
- Heat smoker or grill to 300 degrees. Cook rabbit with direct or indirect heat until its internal temperature in the thickest part reaches 165 degrees. Turn rabbit over every 20 minutes. When it is about halfway done cooking, begin basting with mop sauce each time you turn it (turn the rabbit, and baste the top side each time).
- Cover rabbit in foil and let rest until cool enough to handle.
- Debone the rabbit, keeping all the meat from the legs, arms/shoulders, and tenderloins. Chop meat up with a knife, and then mix about 4 Tablespoons of the extra mop sauce into it.
- Prepare jalapenos by cutting off the stems, slicing the pepper in half longways, and cleaning out the seeds and pithy membrane.
- Fill each jalapeno half with the cream cheese filling. Then arrange a small pile of chopped rabbit meat atop the filling. Cut the Colby jack cheese into small rectangles about the same size as the jalapeno half, and lay that across the top of the rabbit meat.
- Wrap each loaded jalapeno half with a strip of bacon. I recommend wrapping length-wise because it will better seal in the cheese filling and keep it from spilling out.
- Secure the bacon in place with a couple toothpicks. Place poppers on grill or smoker, and cook at 350 degrees until the bacon is lightly crispy and the jalapenos are tender. If you want to use the optional brown sugar glaze, brush the outside of the poppers with the hot glaze when the poppers have about 5-10 minutes left to cook.
- Remove poppers from heat and allow to cool slightly. Enjoy!
- Wet Brine
- Combine all wet brine ingredients and whisk thoroughly.
- Dry Rub (salt free)
- Combine all dry rub ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Mop Sauce
- Melt butter in a small saucepan. Then stir in the remaining mop sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer over low heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Cream Cheese Filling
- In a bowl, combine all cream cheese filling ingredients. Mix very thoroughly together with a fork or spoon.
- Brown Sugar Glaze (optional)
- Combine all brown sugar glaze ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat.
