One of my most biggest hits at work so far have been ABT’s. ABT stands for “Atomic Buffalo Turds” and no, I didn’t invent the name, nor can I take credit for inventing this awesome creation. ABT’s are essentially stuffed jalapenos, wrapped in bacon and smoked. I have seen different variations of stuffing, but the one I will describe here is most standard. Here’s what you’ll need – make in the quantities you want. You’ll want 10-12 good sized jalapenos, a package of cream cheese, the rub of your choice, a package of “Little Smokies” smoked sausages and a package of bacon. Oh, and some skewers or good wooden toothpicks.
I strongly recommend rubber gloves when handling the jalapenos, and maybe some safety glasses too. The first one I went to scoop squirted me right in the eye. Ouch! I keep my gloves on until the ABTs are assembled and ready to go. Wash the jalapenos, split lengthways and keep the halves together.
Take a spoon and scoop out the seeds and pulp from the middle of the jalapenos.
Sprinkle fairly liberally with your favorite rub. I like a sweet rub which offsets all of the other flavors nicely. For this batch I used BBQ Bomber generously sent to me to try by my good friend Obie over at ObieCue. I strongly recommend any of Obie’s products – any I have tried have been awesome!
Next I fill one half of each jalapeno with softened cream cheese, and the other half not-quite-full of cream cheese. In the less-full side, stick one of the Lil Smokie sausages. I went with the cheddar version, just to add another flavor into the mix.
Then you assemble the two halves and wrap with a piece of bacon. Skewer with a toothpick to hold it all together. Depending on they are holding, I may add anoth toothpick, perpendicular to the first one. I dust them once more with the rub, and they are ready to go on the smoker!
I usually do ABT’s when I am already smoking something else on the other rack. The latest batch smoked at 225ish for about 3 hours. I used hardwood lump, with some briquettes added, and a couple of packages of mesquite wood chips thrown on the coals. I have a ProQ “bullet type” smoker. Top damper is always wide open to let the smoke out, temperature is controlled via the bottom dampers. 225 seems to be my smoker’s “sweet spot” anyway, and that temperature, more or less, is where I do all of my smoking.
Take them off, let them cool a bit, and enjoy. These don’t microwave great (as leftovers at work) but they did OK.
