Cuisinart Stuffed Grilled Pepper Rack – CPR-100 - $19.99
3/4/2014 – PajamaGal came through the front door spitting and sputtering something about, “Your best buddy, the UPS driver, has been here again – what did you buy now?” Then she dragged two boxes in and threw them on the couch. I had no idea what was in them – I wasn’t expecting anything.
The first box contained the Cuisinart Quesadilla Grilling Basket - CQM-195 and the second, a Cuisinart Stuffed Grilled Pepper Rack – CPR-100
No note, no invoice, no packing slip. Ok, full disclosure – once I saw what the first box contained, I knew they were free-samples from Cuisinart. I’d posted a review of their “Cuisinart CSBP-100 3-in-1 Stuffed Burger Press” on Amazon and my “Reviews by PJ” blog. Cuisinart liked my review so I sent them some pictures and additional comments (I use and like very much the burger press) – in return they said they’d send me some of their grilling accessories. Without a note, I’ll guess these are those! I’ll review these products but note that Cuisinart did not request that I do.
Another thing – PajamaGal’s brother gave me the Chefs Jalapeno Roasting Rack, and the Norpro Grip-Ez Jalapeno Pepper Corer for this past Christmas. I haven’t used any of these products yet – in fact, I’ve never made grilled-stuffed jalapenos or quesadillas before! I’ve eaten both (especially the “Rattlers” at “SaltGrass Steakhouse” in Houston) and am eager for the snow to melt.
Since no recipes for using any of the products are included, I’ll research some to create a shopping list.
At first look, the Cuisinart pepper rack says to hand wash only, but the Chefs is dishwasher safe. We’ll wait to see how easy they are to clean. The Cuisinart holds 22, the Chefs, 36. (When have I ever had a party where I had to make 20 of anything???)
Once I started Googling for “Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno” I found a ton. Lots of companies make grill racks. I started to get concerned because the majority of blogs and recipe sites for grilled jalapeno “poppers” advise NOT using a rack – instead they promote halving the jalapenos and roasting them flat on a sheet pan or a flat wire or slotted grilling rack. Their rationale is that (1) the jalapenos are easier to clean and stuff once halved, (2) they cook more evenly, and (3) it eliminates the problem of the jalapenos sometimes falling through the rack’s holes when they’re slightly smaller, or when they soften while cooking. (One manufacturer’s rack has an undercarriage to prevent slip-through!)
Ant there are plenty of recipes incorporating a smorgasbord of ingredients – even one that bakes cornbread inside the pepper! Most all of the recipes however, include at least one of three basic things: Cream Cheese, cultured cheese, and bacon. It’s a lot like Justin Wilson’s answer to the question about which wine was proper to pair with which food. The Cajun Chef’s reply was always, “Whatever kind you like!” So it is with stuffed peppers – but you may want to search recipes to find a starting point of ratios of spices and flavorings. And remember, what you use as a stuffing probably won’t cook fully, so it may be best to pre-cook some ingredients like sausage, onions, garlic, etc.
The first batch-
- 12 Jalapenos (green)
- 1 link of Chinese sausage - cooked (casing removed)
- 4 oz. cream cheese @ room temperature
- 2 oz Mexican blend cheese (shredded)
- ½ tsp. granulated garlic
Put all ingredients except jalapenos into a mini-bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
Put on rubber gloves. Cut the tops off the peppers. Core and seed them. To be honest, I didn’t think the corer included with Cuisinart’s rack was going to be as easy to use as the one from Norpro, but it worked so good that I haven’t even removed the Norpro one from its card.
Using a quart-size plastic bag with a corner cut off is ok if your stuffing is loose enough, but you’ll still need to push the stuffing down into the bottom of the pepper and the corer from Cuisinart works pretty well (it’s flat like an oyster knife – there’s no way the curled Norpro would work)
Cored.
Core & seeds removed.
Stuffed.
HEAT - How to Check for the Hotness of Jalapenos from Elise Bauer
If you want ‘em really hot you could add some of the cores and seeds into the stuffing.
My Weber gas grill has 3 burners, but they’re front-middle-back and not side-middle-side, So I lit the front one and positioned the rack over the rear one. I ran an indicated 350° which in retrospect was way too cool. The poppers cooked too slow and too long – the stuffing got too hot (bubbling over) before the peppers got tender, sweeter, and less hot-spicy.
Ready to go. Front burner only, 350°.
After 10 min.
After 20 min.
After 30 min. I moved them to the middle and lit the rear burner. Set both on minimum to keep 350°.
After 40 min. – Took them off and ate 2. The peppers were ok., but too crisp so I returned them to the grill and lit all 3 burners on low.
After another 10 minutes they looked better so we ate them.
They were still pretty hot (spicy), the stuffing was very hot (temperature) and almost runny, and the peppers still had a little crispness. The flavor was ok., but nothing to write home about. Too much cream cheese and not enough sausage or Mexican cheese flavors.
The Cuisinart rack worked great! The peppers fit well, didn’t come close to slipping through. Cleanup was a breeze – the non-stick worked – a couple of easy wipes with a sponge had it clean and looking like new. The removable handle made it very easy to carry, position, and adjust the rack.
So….round-one was just barely O.K. Next time I’ll change the recipe, do some split in half, and grill at higher temperatures.
