These 5-ingredient air fryer turkey poppers are a great appetizer that can be ready in under 30 minutes!
That’s right!! No rising flames due to grease and no rotating required. Simply wrap these up and pop them in the air fryer and out comes crispy, perfectly cooked wild turkey poppers! These are great as appetizers for cook outs and parties or you can eat them as a meal. Here’s a bit of personal advice. If your wife is talking and taking forever to finish her food, that does not mean that she’s finished. Do not eat the last popper that’s been sitting on her plate, no matter how long its been! These are delicious but resist all temptation. It’s been years, and every time I make poppers I hear about it. 😂
Ingredients for Wild Turkey Poppers
- Bacon
- Wild Turkey Breast
- Cream Cheese
- Pepperoncini Peppers (sliced)
How to Make Air Fryer Wild Turkey Poppers
- Cut wild turkey breast into strips. This is personal preference but 3×2 inch cuts make a good 1-2 bite size appetizer.
- Tenderize the strips
- Place the cream cheese and slice peppers into the center and roll tight.
- Wrap in bacon and secure with a toothpick.
How Long to Cook Wild Turkey Poppers
I’ve cooked these in a handful of different air fryers and on multiple grills (gas, coal/wood, pellet) the time is different on every single one. With my air fryer, I set it to 360 degrees and cook for 16-18 minutes. As a general rule, when the bacon is done, the poppers are ready. I’ve never used this method and had poppers with crispy bacon but undercooked meat on the inside.
I wrap one half around the stuffed turkey strip, turn the strip and wrap the other half piece of bacon around that, making an “X” to enclose the popper before securing with a toothpick.
Tips for Making the Best Turkey Poppers
Tenderize the wild turkey strips. This can easily be done with a meat tenderizer hammer and makes the entire process, from rolling to eating, much easier.
Consider using whipped cream cheese. Regular cream cheese works great and makes delicious poppers. I just prefer the texture of whipped cream cheese. That’s pretty much my only reason, ha! Either are great so see what you think!
Roll and wrap the poppers tight but not so tight that you squeeze everything out. This will keep everything together throughout cooking and give you a clean cohesive bite from your popper versus unraveling all over you as you eat.
Half the Bacon. I often cut the bacon strips in half. Then I wrap one half around the stuffed turkey strip, turn the strip and wrap the other half piece of bacon around that, making an “X” to enclose the popper before securing with a toothpick. Admittedly, the success of this depends on your package of bacon but this method helps the bacon cook better. When you spiral wrap, sometimes you end up with undercooked bacon between the crispy outside and the stuffed turkey inside.
Use an air fryer! That should go without saying since these are Air Fryer Wild Turkey Poppers but I felt the need to reiterate. I’ve got some self-proclaimed grill master friends and we’ve all agreed that this route is just as good, if not better! You can simply place them in the air fryer and close. No worries of the flame jumping up due to grease drip, no rotating, just an easy way for delicious turkey poppers.
Other Turkey Recipes:
Turkey, Bacon and Avocado Taquitos
Other Air Fryer Recipes:
Air Fryer Wild Turkey Poppers
These 5-ingredient air fryer turkey poppers are a great
appetizer that can be prepped and ready in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Bacon
- 1 Wild Turkey Breast
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- 2-3 oz Pepperoncini Pepper (Sliced)
- BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Make sure you have toothpicks.
- Cut wild turkey breast into strips. This is personal preference but 3x2 inch cuts make a
good 1-2 bite size appetizer. - Tenderize each side of the turkey strips with a meat tenderizer hammer.
- Place the cream cheese (1 tbsp) and sliced peppers (1 tsp) into the center of the tenderized strip and fold the turkey strip over, placing one end over the other. Make sure it is tight, but don't press the filling out.
- Wrap the bacon around the turkey and secure with a toothpick.
- Set the heat on the air fryer to 360 degrees and let the poppers cook for 16-18 minutes or until done.
- Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce during the last couple minutes of cooking.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
