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Game Day Bacon Wrapped Cheesy Chicken Jalapeno Footballs

There are a ton of recipes on the Internet to impress your friends on Game Day. As a pitmaster hosting a Superbowl party, I had to find a way to take it up a notch from my usual smoked wings, so I decided to come up with some bacon wrapped footballs. How do you make an appetizer football from chicken? Well, the drumstick comes to mind because when you debone the drum meat, you can shape it into an oval football. Add a spicy Jalapeno stuffing, cheese, and bacon wrap the sucker, you’ve got a signature appetizer to wow your game day friends. Regardless of whether your team wins or not, you’re going to score a touchdown with these puppies.

  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 chicken drumsticks
  • 1 package 16 oz bacon
  • 1 package shredded cheese
  • 1 box Stove Top chicken stuffing
  • 1 can Chicken broth
  • 4 Jalapenos, 2 rough chopped, 2 sliced lengthwise, remove seeds if you don’t like spicy
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • Slap Yo Daddy All Purpose rub to taste, or salt and pepper
  • Barbecue sauce

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 ½ cups of water and one can of chicken broth. When the liquid boils, add butter and chopped Jalapenos. After butter melts, add 1 package Stovetop stuffing mix. Heat until boiling, stir a bit, and turn off heat. If needed, add water to get to the stuffing consistency you like. I used store bought stuffing to make it easy, but you can make your own stuffing. Set aside to cool. Separate out ½ cup and save the rest for your family dinner
  2. Prepare the drumsticks by cutting the tendons and skin around the base of the drum. Make a cut lengthwise and carefully debone the drum meat without the skin. Save bones for soup stock
  3. Lay out your bacon strips and slice the jalapenos. Keep the seeds on if you like the stuffing to be spicy
  4. Spread out the chicken drum meat and apply some Slap Yo Daddy All Purpose rub. Spoon on some stuffing, place the jalapeno slice or slices in the middle. Smother it with shredded cheese and roll into a football. Wrap with bacon and set aside on a wire rack. You can also wrap with plastic wrap to keep the shape. Refrigerate for half hour or make a couple of days ahead.

  5. Apply some rub and grill or smoke in the pit at 325F. Once the internal is about 150F (about 30 – 45 mins), you can increase the heat to 400F to get crispier bacon. You can also do this in the oven on the broiler setting
  6. Remove when internal is 165F. Let cool a bit and brush on your fav barbecue sauce.
  7. Serve whole footballs or in slices
  • Author: Harry Soo
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Cuisine: American

Find it online: https://www.slapyodaddybbq.com/2024/04/game-day-bacon-wrapped-cheesy-chicken-jalapeno-footballs/