# ABT or other appetizer



## bigsteve

I volunteered to make an appetizer for a pot luck this Saturday night.  I originally figured what would be better than ABT's???  But I'm second guessing now.  ABTs sometimes don't look very appealing, and I'm afraid many if not most will shy away when they hear the word Jalapeno.  So I'm looking for ideas for a smoked appetizer.

It seems like a fatty has great taste for an appetizer, but I don't know how to present it.  Sliced and cut into cubes doesn't look so hot, and sometimes the small chunks fall apart.

Any ideas??????

I'd rather not buy some pizza rolls and heat 'em up.


----------



## fired up

How about smoking some homemade smoked mini meatballs in bbq sauce, keep them in a crock pot. Or you could do a pulled pork butt and keep warm in a crock pot with little buns or biscuits on the side to make mini sandwiches. If you wanted to do something cold you could smoke some tomatoes and do a smoked tomato bruschetta, or maybe smoked cheeses with crackers. Just some ideas, hope they help.


----------



## wutang

I will second the meatballs. You could always do chicken wings. I have also done little smokies wrapped in bacon and dusted with brown sugar. Those are great.


----------



## smokebuzz

How bout pizza rolls on the smoker???

OR  chunk up some chicken breast, roll it soak it in some rub and brown suger, then wrap in bacon  or sausage and smoke.

Maybe smoke some chedder, swiss, gouda, i could do this all day, so pick a cheese or 4 and smoke it up, always a hit.


----------



## bbq engineer

If you have the ability to cold smoke some cheese, set out a tray of that and some smoked sausage with a tub of crackers. 

Maybe some smoked salmon and crackers with a yogurt dill sauce?

Geek with Fire's Jalamento cheese rolls looked like a winner for an appetizer as well.

I love Buffalo wings...smoke them first of course! Often, I get legs at costco, and I make Buffalo Legs (A/K/A HOT LEGS!) for a meatier smoked version...people love them!

Darrin did some absolutely Killer looking Bacon Wrapped Buffalo Shrimp ...I guarantee you would be a hero if you showed up with a crock pot of those!

Just a couple thoughts...good luck!

BBQ Eng.


----------



## azrocker

Those Buffalo Shrimp get my vote!

Good Shrimp Source. These are really sweet. Much different then gulf shrimp. I have been to the farm. It is amazing. They raise the shrimp then irrigate with the water. They are not cheap though :-(
http://www.desertsweetshrimp.com/catalog_c265450.html


----------



## werdwolf

These are from Abelman.  I think you would need to make them smaller if you have a lot of people.  They were about the size of a tennis ball when done.  they were great though.

   BLP meatballs

  Don't really know which section to post this is because it's not all beef, but, they are meatballs.

I call them BLP because they are an equal porion of ground beef (80/20), ground lamb and ground pork. I also used powdered garlic, parsley flakes, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, bread crumbs, pamesan cheese, spinach, and eggs. It's a wonderful meatball recipe!




½ lb ground beef
½ lb ground pork
½ lb ground lamb
½ cup of bread crumbs. Use ¼ cup in meat and the other to roll in
½ tsp Red Pepper flakes
1 ½ tsp parsley
1 ½ tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
½ cup parmesan cheese
5 oz thawed spinach, squeezed
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients less a ¼ cup of bread crumbs. Lightly mix the meats together without squishing it.

Chill in fridge covered for 24 hours. Make 1 ½ oz balls, about golf ball size. Roll them in the remaining bread crumbs. Put them in a mini muffin pan so that they do not touch the bottom. Pop them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

If smoked, do them at 225 with Cherry Wood. I used Maple Bacon as well. I skip the second half of the bread crumbs and use Jeff's Rub instead. You might even crisp the bacon a bit before wrapping depending on taste. Pulled at 1 hour and dipped in 50% water, 50% BBQ sauce mix. Then back on smoker for 20 minutes. Pulled at 165 and still juicy and moist. Smoke time was 1 hour, 20 minutes.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...threadid=27614

  Abelman


----------



## fired up

The problem with the shrimp is they need to be served right away or they will be rubbery. If you are cooking them on site then go for it. If not I would find something that will hold up better.


----------



## bigsteve

Wow, you guys are on a roll!  Y'all sure have more imagination than me!


----------



## cajunsmoke13

I agree with Firde Up.  Smoke some meatballs, or buy the premade and throw them in the crockpot with your favorite BBQ Sauce.  I add water to my sauce so it's not so sick.  Also, you could substitute Little Smokies for the meatballs.  Always a hit at my parties.  Can't go wrong.


----------



## txbbqman

Big Steve, you may be Ok with the ABT's. I understand your concern but they may be a bigger hit than you think.

Several years ago a co worker of my wife asked me to make some for their bank Christmas party, I too was skeptical at how these "banking types" would handle a Jalapeno, well needless to say they were a huge hit and I am now on the hook for 200 every Christmas party.

I gotta teach one of the other husbands how to make them.....


----------



## bigsteve

Hmmmmmmmm

A tiny little spark just crackled deep in the recesses of my middle aged brain.  It's cloudy, but it's starting to look like barbequed meatballs in sauce.  Wait a minute, it's a little more clear...... The meatballs are being formed using raw fatty meat........  Smoked, then simmered in BBQ sauce in a crock pot.  Hmmmmmmmmm


----------



## bigsteve

Well, they're not totally "off the table."  I was just having second thoughts.


----------



## bigbaldbbq

A MOINK might be good. A bacon wrapped meatball, glazed in BBQ sauce. Or some wings.


----------



## bbq engineer

Big Steve,

It sounds like you have a plan, and I think you are on to something...it sounds easy enough to pull off, shows your craft, will be readily accepted by everyone (they won't be freaked out...some people can be so dam* wierd about eating, and Jalapeno's might freak them out), and they will be easy to make in advance / refrigerated / and reheated in the crock pot. Besides, Who could argue with using a toothpick as your silverware?

BBQ Eng.


----------



## indyadmin1974

I think ABTs are very surprising.  It's like the mob mentality.  A few may scoff at them, but once they see others scarfing them down, they'll try them.  You may want to try a variety though.  Wings are very easy.


----------



## bigsteve

Well, fattie meatballs and Jalapenos are both cheap enough.  I suppose I could bring both.


----------



## wutang

Now you're talking! Why tease them with a little of the goodness when you can "wow" them with a variety of stuff.


----------



## azrocker

what he said ^


----------



## athabaskar

This sounds pretty insane on paper. It is nothing short of heaven in your mouth.

2 12 oz jars Heinz chili sauce
1 32 oz jar grape jelly

Put the chili sauce and jelly in a crock pot, heat until the jelly is melted and sauce is smooth, stirring often. Add smoked meatballs.

I'm not a huge fan of sweet meat but I can eat the hell outta these meatballs. The chili sauce offsets the sweet very well and the smoke adds another level of flavor. I would suggest one pot of these and one with your favorite bbq sauce. You will have plenty of bbq style to eat while these disappear.


----------



## bigsteve

LOL my wife was just telling me about meatballs with Jelly. This potluck is once a month, and someone always brings meatballs. So now I'm second guessing that. I will say this..... _*NO ONE else*_ is going to bring ABTs if I go that way.


----------



## salsashark

I think the ABTs can look good. Instead of wrapping the whole thing in bacon, just put it on top like a blanket... if you wanna go all super fancy, I guess you could even tuck the edges of the bacon into the pepper... 

I had a similar thing last summer. I made a huge batch of ABTs, but I soaked half of my peppers in milk the night before... so I had a batch of mild and a batch of normal. Even my heat intolerant friends were fighting over them... worked out great.


----------



## bigsteve

Well, I've made an executive decision. I'm going to mix a cooked fatty all chopped up into some cream cheese, with some as yet to be decided spices.

I'll fill about 20 Jalapeno halfs with it, wrap in Bacon and smoke. I'll take the rest of the cream chees mix and stuff it into cone shaped rolled up thin slices of Salami. That way, even the lightweights get some smoked fatty action. I think I'll cook a few strips of Bacon and add it to the Cream cheese before I do the Salami ones.

Hey, I'm no Julia Child...........


----------



## bigsteve

Cough-cough..... MEDIC!!!!!

Geeze..... The Jalapenos I bought are juicy and very hot.  They sprayed juice right on my glasses once.  Eyes are okay, but my lungs are complaining.  These babies are going for a swim in a Milk swimming pool.


----------



## rivet

Hey, no worries, you'll do fine. The heat from the jalapenos reduces in the smoker, and the pepper "meat" sweetens up-cleopatra milk-bath or no cleopatra milk-bath. It looks as you have the whole thing under control, so go hit the group, take all congratulations with a big smile, and be The Man~ the Smoke King! 

We're pullin' for you, let us know how it turned out!


----------



## bigsteve

I made them Saturday afternoon for a dinner/dance that night. I made 30, brought 3 home. I wrapped them in foil and towels and put them in a cooler. When I set them up, they were piping hot. But the "organizers" decided to wait 90 min to eat after set up. Sheesh. Everything that was supposed to be hot was cold, and stuff that should have been cold, was warm. Pizzed me off some because I put a good bit of effort into mine. Lots of folks brought Ginos pizza rolls, or KFC. Won't make that mistake again.......... I'll make them to take to a friends house, but not again to a pot luck.


----------



## bbqandfootball

That sounds good.

Just the chili sauce and grape jelly, or do you also add some BBQ sauce?


----------



## bbqandfootball

This is what I was asking about. Just chili sauce and jelly, or with some BBQ sauce also?


----------



## baddurango

Grape jelly and chili sauce, sounds scarry but intresting gonna have to 
sneak this in on the family and see the reacations.


----------



## porked

Had to try this...mixed the grape jelly and chili sauce in a crockpot and added a bit of ketchup and Texas Pete's. Made meatballs using ground beef and sausage, fried onions, garlic and eggs and put in the smoker. Pulled at 165 and added the meatballs to the sauce and cooked on low about 2 hours in the pot. Let me tell you, MEATBALL HEAVEN. Will be making again as a side dish when entertaining, because you can make days ahead.


----------

