Fresh Grilled Figs with Goat Cheese Wrapped in Bacon (or Proscuitto)
This grilled appetizer lends to incredibly complex flavors whose taste is like candied heaven!
The thin fig skins and interior from the fruit of the fresh fig tree really is sweet like candy and provide these little bites a delicate yet bold balance between the tangy goat cheese filling and an added decadence wrapped with bacon.
Pop one of these into your mouth after removing the secured toothpick and you will be shortly searching for a place to hide your little plate filling up with round pick sticks, evidence that you just can’t stop eating them!
The Fresh Grilled Figs with Goat Cheese Wrapped in Bacon appetizer were first prepared and served at an impromptu dinner at the home of Dale and Elaine in Las Vegas one evening. Just picked from the fig tree at the side of their home, these melt in your mouth bites were such a hit that they made a repeat performance as the piece de resistance starter at a small dinner gathering later in the week.
With a few simple quality ingredients, these stuffed grilled figs are easy to assemble. The real skill is in the grill to perfection including cooking the bacon until just done all around and slightly crispy with the goat cheese slightly melting to hot and creamy on the inside.
Dale also prepares the Grilled Stuffed Figs wrapped with Prosciutto which in some ways he prefers as the meat is easier to handle since you don’t have to worry about fully cooking Prosciutto as compared to handling raw bacon. The bacon-wrapped figs were my favorite at the first dinner and I had plenty of empty toothpicks lining my appetizer plate.
Prolific in its abundance throughout the couple month-long harvest in the spring, Dale says that their summer fig tree harvest is also very lush though it produces much smaller ripe figs during the high heat months, about one-third the size as the spring crop. You can see the smaller size hot summer figs in the bowl below.
Fig trees grow well in Las Vegas and produce their fruits in the warm to hot weather months. As they grow they begin to droop around the leaves until they are ripe. The figs are ready for picking as they turn a deep purple color or brownish tinge. Figs need to be picked when they are ripe, unlike other fruits, figs do not continue to ripen once plucked off the branch. The Roesener’s tree is a large, healthy tree and Dale has indicated it is too big for netting from birds known to love the fruits of the fig tree. They still enjoy plenty of fresh figs plucked from the easy reach lower parts of the tree.
Either fresh or dried figs may be used in this preparation but for the pure exquisite flavor of this little hors d’ oeuvre of Grilled Figs, Goat Cheese, and Bacon, if you’re lucky enough to snag some little summer fresh figs then as in this case, these are the Las Vegas luckiest best!
Fresh Grilled Figs with Goat Cheese Wrapped in Bacon
Ingredients
- 18 fresh figs, stem removed, then sliced lengthwise three quarters down the center keeping the whole fig still intact
- 5 ounces plain goat cheese, around a 3/8 inch thick piece, enough to just fill the fig
- 9 slices smoked bacon, thin-cut variety, approximately, cut into halves or 2/3 pieces depending on the size of the fig
- An alternative to Bacon: ¼ pound Prosciutto, approximately, enough cut to fit around each stuffed fig following the same procedure
- 18 round toothpicks (Dale recommends round as they are sturdier for securing the stuffed wrapped fig rather than the flat, thinner variety)
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium temperature
- Set cut figs onto a platter or a baking sheet
- Stuff goat cheese into each fig
- Wrap bacon around the entire fig encasing the stuffed fruit
- Secure through with a round toothpick
- Grill stuffed figs on medium heat to prevent flare-ups or the cheese melting and oozing out
- Cook around five minutes each side, approximately, until bacon is fully cooked all around
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