Hawaiian bacon wrapped chili peppers "Ono Poppers" "Ono" is Hawaiian for "Delicious"
I like using red Fresno chilies that have a little less heat than jalapenos, a little sweeter and added color.
Cut a slit on one side of the pepper starting just before the tip and ending right at the top just below the stem. Then gently squeeze the ends of the pepper, causing the slit to open slightly. Using a small dull knife or spoon, scrape out the seeds and veins from the inside of the peppers
This technique is a little more time consuming than just cutting the top off, but you don't have to worry about using tooth pics or cheese leaking out all over your grill
Mix together one 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, in pineapple juice, with one 8 oz container of cream cheese. Using a small spoon, carefully pack the pineapple cream cheese mixture into the peppers as tightly packed as possible.
Using a whole slice of thin cut bacon, start wraping the pepper from the top. Stretch the bacon tight while wrapping and make sure it overlaps slightly. This will help the bacon stick so you don't have to use tooth pics to hold it on. Cut the excess bacon off
Sprinkle a light coat of my BBQ rub on them for a little extra layer of flavor. Smoke the poppers in the smoker or indirect on the grill about 250 until the bacon is crisp and browned (about 1 1/2 hours)
At this point brush the poppers with my Bourbon Pineapple BBQ sauce, or your favorite BBQ sauce, and let them go another 15-20 minutes to caramelize the sauce.
If you have kids or people that don't like spicy, use baby sweet peppers. The result is still amazing, but without the heat