The official ABT thread

[Joe Public]

Here's my jalapeno popper test run.

I hollowed eight jalapeno halves:



I brushed a little adobo into each pepper:



Then I piped on a cheese mixture consisting of 4 oz. of cream cheese and about a cup of shredded extra sharp cheddar:



I didn't want to thaw my leftover pulled pork or tri-tip for eight poppers, so I topped each with two water chestnuts and a slice of chipotle pepper:



Next, some Memphis Dust rub:



I then wrapped the poppers in bacon (full strip, no toothpick):



I set the kamado to 275F degrees indirect with some cherry wood chunks for smoke. The poppers cooked for an hour. They came out like this:



I really liked the crunch of the water chestnut, although slices would have sufficed. I tried some with the raspberry chipotle sauce. The extra sharp cheddar had enough punch to assert itself among the smoke, bacon, pepper, etc.

These were good enough to make again. I'll try some pulled pork on them next time.

[CJF]

Very interesting, Joe. I love the variety. That sounds really good. Seriously, you've taken things to a different level. Nice job.

[TripletDaddy]

Those look great. The water chestnut is a great idea. Might have to try that one. It also makes for a very erotic looking Goatnapper'96 approved photo op!

[FN Phat]

Very nice work, Joe.

I tried my hand at some ABTs last night as appetizers at the 'rents. My wife recieved a box of produce from a local farmer and there were a ton of jalepenos. Most were rather small but worked out fine. 5 adults and 3 kids tore through 48 of the bad boys in no time. It was a trial run before we host a small get together with a few families from the ward and the missionaries. They were a big hit. Thanks again, CUF!

PS: Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics.



Jalepenos were halved, cored, and prepped for the filling (consisting of ground chorizo, cream cheese, and green onions...in my excitement I forgot to add the shredded cheese ). I then wrapped them in bacon and sprinkled a rub from a local BBQ company and then topped with brown sugar. I started by securing the bacon with toothpicks but quickly realized that DDD was spot on...the bacon did a fine job holding together on it's own.



They were on the smoker, set at 275, for about 1 hr and 15 minutes (just long enough to get the bacon crisp). Pulled and plated for good eats! We tried out a raspberry chipotle from a local boutique (the one on the left), a black raspberry vingerette that my mom had made for a salad (on the right)and some home made peach puree (in the middle). The raspberry chipotle was my fav but it back a punch. I liked how the heat came and the end of the bite. The overwhelming favorite from the group was the peach puree. A perfect blend of sweet and heat. The vingerette was a flop. Not a good blend of flavor profiles.

[Joe Public]

I tried my hand at some ABTs last night as appetizers at the 'rents.

They look good, and the peach sounds like a nice complement.

[kccougar]

So if I'm going to use sausage of some kind, should I use pre-cook the sausage?

Also, what ratio of cream cheese / cheese are you guys using?

[Joe Public]

So if I'm going to use sausage of some kind, should I use pre-cook the sausage?

I would pre-cook the sausage; you want to be able to pull them when the bacon's done without worrying whether internal fillings are cooked. Also, it might get overly greasy if the sausage cooks inside the pepper.

Also, what ratio of cream cheese / cheese are you guys using?

I used 4 ounces of softened cream cheese per cup of shredded cheese and mixed them before adding them to the peppers.

[San Juan Sun]

FWIW, leftover ABT filling makes an excellent veggie dip.

[kccougar]

ABTs are wrapped, dusted, and resting in the fridge for dinner tomorrow night. I'm going to make my first attempt on the brick smoker at our cabin.

[kccougar]

Everyone loved the ABTs, and I'm doing them again for a neighborhood block party on Tuesday night.

Saturday night I prepared the ABTs, using 1 package of cream cheese combined with 2 cups of mexican blend cheese. Then I added green onions and pork chorizo. Dusted with JL's Rub and wrapped in bacon. I had to run to the grocery store late for more bacon so only half of the ABTs got the applewood smoked bacon from Snider's.

On Sunday I tried out the brick smoker using charcoal for most of the heat with chunks of wet hickory for the smoke. I smoked 30 halves for 7 adults and 3 kids. We could probably have eaten twice as many.

And I wouldn't even attempt to do these without the raspberry bbq sauce. I bought a bottle of Bronco Bob's from World Market, and adding the bbq sauce is absolutely indispenable IMO.

[Joe Public]

Everyone loved the ABTs, and I'm doing them again for a neighborhood block party on Tuesday night.

How were they with the chorizo?

[kccougar]

How were they with the chorizo?

Honestly, all the flavors blended together so you didn't really notice the chorizo standing out too much. I also didn't put a ton of it in.

[FN Phat]

How did you like the JL rub?

[kccougar]

How did you like the JL rub?

I need to try it on some meat, but initial indications are great!

[Joe Public]

[I think there are two official ABT threads. Maybe they should be merged?]

I made some ABTs and moinks for the ND game. The ABTs were filled with cream cheese/extra sharp cheddar, cooked pork sausage, sliced water chestnuts, Spade L pork rub, and wrapped in bacon:



For the moinks, I purchased Albertson's homestyle (they had homestyle and Italian) meatballs, wrapped them in bacon, and coated them with Spade L pork rub:



I put them on the kamado at 275F degrees with cherry wood chunks for smoke:



I let them smoke/cook until they were about 15-20 minutes away from being done.



At that point, I coated the moinks in some BBQ sauce to let it tighten over the rest of the cook. Here they are off the cooker:



The moinks were good, but I definitely like the ABTs better. I'm going to hide some pulled pork in the freezer for next time; that's my favorite internal meat topping for ABTs so far. Also, the sliced water chestnuts are the way to go.