Saw this elsewhere and thought some of you might want to try them:
The Basics of ABT’s
ABT’s or Atomic Buffalo Turds as they are also known are considered BBQ Crack in the barbecuing world. They have received this dubious title because they are addicting. If you put a tray of these out at your next party, don’t think that there will be any left when you return because your guest will eat these as fast as they are made.
ABT’s are easy to make and very tough to put down. Now personally, I am not a big jalapeno fan. However, when you de-vein and smoke a jalapeno, most of the heat normally associated with the pepper is gone. What is left is a very rich flavor in a small little package. Every bite in an ABT is a symphony of flavors in your mouth. You start with the smoked bacon flavor; move to the jalapeno, then to the cream cheese / onion and finish up with a cheddar flavored smoked sausage.
Here is a list of ingredients to make approximately 20 ABT’s.
20 Fresh Jalapenos (Pick the straighter ones when you choose)
20 Cheddar Lit’l Smokies (1 package contains approximately 36 sausages)
1 Pkg. Cream Cheese (8 oz.)
2 Lbs. Bacon ½ or 1 strip per ABT
1/8 Med. Mexican Sweet Onion (Diced)
1 Tblspn. Turbinado Sugar
Start by putting on cellophane or latex gloves. The juices from the jalapenos are very potent and will still be in your skin days after you handle them without gloves.
Using a sharp knife, remove the stem end of the jalapeno.
You will notice that the inside of the pepper not only has seeds, but also a membrane (called the vein) that acts as internal support for the pepper.
To get to the seeds and vein, slice the pepper lengthwise to the end.
Make sure that you keep track of both sides of the pepper, you will want to mate both sides again after they are stuffed.
As you can see, the vein and seeds remain intact. You will need to remove both before you proceed. While there are tools for this, I find a tea spoon to be quite effective in removing both.
Once the insides are clean, you are ready to fill the ABTs with cheese and sausage.
Inside this batch I am going to add 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar and 1/8 of a finely diced, medium size, Mexican Sweet onion to take a bit of the bite off the pepper and add another layer of flavor.
Once you have mixed your onion, sugar and cream cheese together into a paste, spread a small amount into each ½ shell of the pepper.
Next, place one smokie in each pair of peppers. *** some people like to just do ½ of a smokie with ½ a slice of bacon, the choice is yours.
With the smokies inserted in the ABT’s, sandwich the smokie in between both sides of the pepper and wrap tightly with ½ to 1 full piece of bacon.
After the ABT has been wrapped, place 2 toothpicks through the ABT. Make sure you hit both the pepper and smokie to secure the bacon on the ABT.
Place the ABT’s on a preheated smoker at 250 degrees and cook for approximately 2 hours until done.
Don’t worry about the cream cheese coming out of the ABT. The smoke forms a skin that acts as a temporary plug in the pepper.
When the pepper is done, remove from the smoker and stand back. Some people try to remove the toothpicks from the ABT’s but I don’t. I find that they act as a handle and keep the sausage from squirting out with the cheese when you bite into one.
As you can see, the cheese is still creamy in the center. Two of these prior to a meal is a great way to prepare your guest for the main course. The problem is that many guests can’t stop at two!
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