Smoked Mini Sweet Pepper ABT’s (Stuffed Sweet Peppers)
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I've been making stuffed jalapeños (a.k.a ABT's or atomic buffalo turds) for many years but every once in a while I'll get an email asking me how to make them NOT so hot.
Tip: you can soak the jalapeños in sprite or 7-up or some other citrus soda for a few hours or even overnight to leech out the “hotness”
or..
Another really great option is to just use mini sweet peppers.
To make them even better, I've added cooked ground sausage to the mix as well as my very own Jeff's original rub.
Did I mention these are wrapped in bacon?😍
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Smoker Temp: 225°F
- Meat Finish Temp: n/a
- Recommended Wood: Pecan
- 15-20 (or more) mini sweet peppers
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup sharp cheddar, grated
- ½ cup cooked ground sausage (chorizo would also work well)
- 2 TBS Jeff's original rub
- 1.5 lbs bacon, thin cut is best
Place about 1/2 cup of ground sausage into a small to medium skillet and cook it over medium low heat until it is browned through.
Place the cooked, crumbled sausage onto a double layer of paper towels to absorb any extra grease and set aside.
While the sausage is cooking, cut peppers in half lengthwise to make boats. Each pepper makes 2 boats.
Use a spoon, grapefruit spoon, melon baller, etc. to scoop out the seeds and some of the white ribs on the inside.
Set the peppers aside and let's make the mixture that we will stuff inside of the boats.
Place softened cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cooked sausage and Jeff's original rub or your favorite low salt barbecue rub into a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.
I usually just use my hands but a mixing spoon or even a fork works well if you prefer that.
Stuff the cream cheese mixture into each boat level with the top.
Note: Size varies but most of these peppers were on the small/shallow side. I was able to stuff about 20 peppers (40 boats) with this amount of stuffing mixture. Your mileage may vary.
Wrap a half strip of bacon around each boat.
Some people use a toothpick to secure the bacon but I have not found that to be necessary.
I like to place the finished peppers on a pan with a rack (here's the one I use) for easy transport to and from the smoker.
Sprinkle Jeff's original rub onto the top of each one to add another layer of delicious flavor.. now they are ready to smoke!
Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225°F using indirect heat. If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.
I used pecan wood for smoke.
Once the smoker is ready, place the stuffed, bacon wrapped peppers on the grate and let them smoke cook for about 3 hours.
Note: if you used a pan with rack, you can place that on the smoker grate instead of laying them on the grate individually.
Keep an eye on the peppers and when the bacon starts to crisp up and the peppers are nice and soft, they are ready to eat.
Eat a few before you bring them in because they will vaporize FAST and you may not even get any if you're not careful!
Smoked Sweet Pepper ABT's (Stuffed Sweet Peppers)
Ingredients
Main
- 15-20 (or more) mini sweet peppers
- 1.5 lbs bacon (thin cut is best)
Stuffing
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup sharp cheddar (grated)
- ½ cup cooked ground sausage (chorizo would also work well)
- 2 TBS Jeff's original rub (or your favorite low-salt barbecue rub)
Instructions
- Place about ¼ cup of ground sausage into a small to medium skillet and cook it over medium low heat until it is browned through. Place the cooked, crumbled sausage onto a double layer of paper towels to absorb any extra grease and set aside.
- While the sausage is cooking, cut peppers in half lengthwise to make boats. Each pepper makes 2 boats. Use a spoon, grapefruit spoon, melon baller, etc. to scoop out the seeds and some of the white ribs on the inside. Set the peppers aside and let's make the mixture that we will stuff inside of the boats.
- Place softened cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cooked sausage and Jeff's original rub or your favorite low salt barbecue rub into a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly. I usually just use my hands but a mixing spoon or even a fork works well if you prefer that.
- Stuff the cream cheese mixture into each boat level with the top.
- Wrap a half strip of bacon around each boat. Some people use a toothpick to secure the bacon but I have not found that to be necessary. I like to place the finished peppers on a pan with a rack for easy transport to and from the smoker.
- Sprinkle Jeff's original rub onto the top of each one to add another layer of delicious flavor.. now they are ready to smoke!
- Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225°F (107°C) using indirect heat. If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up. I used pecan wood for smoke. Once the smoker is ready, place the stuffed, bacon wrapped peppers on the grate and let the smoke cook for about 3 hours. Note: if you used a pan with rack, you can place that on the smoker grate instead of laying them on the grate individually.
- Keep an eye on the peppers and when the bacon starts to crisp up and the peppers are nice and soft, they are ready to eat. Eat a few before you bring them. in because they will vaporize FAST and you may not even get any if you're not careful!
Can these be cooked and eaten later as an appetizer
I don’t see why you couldn’t cook them a day or two early.. not sure if I’d go much longer than that. You’ll probably want to reheat them under the oven broiler for a few minutes to put some life back into the bacon. I’ve even heard of folks freezing these and eating them later but I haven’t tried that.
This is a great recipe, I made it with Chorizo. I made about 40 of them and still had mixture left over so I used the left over bacon, mixture, and a couple peppers and scrambled with several eggs. Wow that was a great brunch mixture! The poppers were a hit I may have to make a double batch.
Jeff there is a difference between recipe and printable recipe 1/4 cup susage verses 1/2 cup. 1/2 cup is right but make note. PS THEY WERE GREAT.
Tim
Just an add in for both the sweet peppers and the jalapeño. After you wrap the bacon around the peppers sprinkle or coat the peppers in brown sugar. I use a dredging style to coat mine and the sweetness not only helps with the heat of the jalapeños, but the sweet/savory is perfect. I cannot make enough peppers when I have folks over for fajitas and stuffed peppers.