Canada Day weekend is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate than with barbecue and beer? Barbecue guru Ted Reader shows us how to cook a delicious dish from his latest book "Beerlicious: The Art of Grillin’ and Chilllin’."

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: Two hours including refrigeration resting time   

Skill level: Intermediate

Serves: 24

Ingredients:

  • 5 Schneiders® Grill’ems® Fully Cooked Smoked Sausage Cheddar, each cut into 4 to 5 chunks
  • ¼ cup (60 mL) cream cheese
  • 1 cup (250 mL) shredded dheddar cheese
  • 24 large green jalapeno peppers, seeded
  • 24 Schneiders® Pepperettes Original Sausage
  • 24 Slices Schneiders® Bacon
  • 24 Toothpicks soaked in cold water for at least 30 minutes.
  • 24 4 to 6-inch (10 to 15-cm) square sheets of aluminum foil
  • 2 tsp (10 mL) Ted’s World Famous BBQ Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning or your favourite barbecue seasoning

Directions:

Place Grill’ems® sausages in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Add cream cheese and cheddar cheese and blend until well mixed.  Transfer mixture to a bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Rinse hollowed out jalapenos under cold running water to remove any remaining seeds. Stand peppers cut-side down on paper towelling to drain.

Using a small spoon, stuff each jalapeno with the sausage/cheese mixture by pressing gently to fill. Using the handle of a very small wooden spoon or a chopstick, push it into the center of the stuffed jalapeno to make a hole. Insert a pepperette into the center of the stuffed jalapeno to make a meat stick jalapeno stuffed lollipop.  Repeat with remaining jalapenos.

Lay a slice of bacon on a flat work surface and run your fingers across the entire length of the bacon to stretch it by almost one third.  Wrap each smoked sausage stuffed jalapeno lollipop tightly with the stretched slice of bacon making sure to cover the entire surface of the jalapeno, leaving the pepperette stick exposed.  Start by wrapping the bacon at the base of the pepperette where it meets the jalapeno, and wrap down to the tip of the jalapeno. Secure with a toothpick ensuring pepperette and bacon are both pierced.  Repeat with remaining stuffed jalapenos and refrigerate covered for at least one hour.

Set grill up for indirect cooking (one burner not turned on) and preheat remaining burners to approx. 400°F (200°C), at about medium to medium-high heat.

Wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the end of the pepperette end of the lollipops, nice and tight. This will keep the pepperettes from burning and drying out on the grill. Place over the unlit burner, close lid and cook for 10 minutes. Turn jalapenos, close lid and continue to cook for another 15 to18 minutes to allow the bacon to begin to crisp. Once the bacon just starts to crisp, move the lollipops over a lit burner and grill, turning gently and frequently for about 15 minutes until the bacon is fully cooked and crisp and the jalapenos are tender and the stuffing is hot.

Season lollipops with a little barbecue seasoning. Remove from grill and let rest for five minutes.  Serve with your favourite barbecue sauce for dipping.

For more of chef Ted Reader's barbecue recipes, visit the Schneiders Facebook page.