# Cook time & temp advice needed



## raselkirk (May 30, 2020)

Hi All,

I'm gonna do a dozen ABTs later today, need advice on cook time/temp.  We saw a segment on DDD where a chef did his 45 minutes at 250° in a smoker, but a short look here shows most go for 2 hrs minimum. This will be in my MES30 with mailbox mod. I've got boudain going on at 175°, looking at ramping up temp for the ABT's and brined chicken breast somewhere in there. Smoke tube lasts 5 hrs...

Thanks!

Russ


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## fivetricks (May 30, 2020)

Depends on how you want to do them. You could throw them in for an hour and then finish them in a high heat oven or grill or something like that to toast the bacon a bit.

If you're not going to worry about the texture of the bacon is much then think more 90-120 mins ish.

Basically the pepper is going to cook much faster than the bacon.


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## jcam222 (May 30, 2020)

I did my last batch at about 250F before I ramped up to 275 forcthe whole chicken I was doing. Probably 90 to 120 minutes. They were huge halved jalapeños. I will probably do at 275 next time for crisper bacon. Overall you can do these things at whatever temp you are hot smoking meat.


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## thirdeye (May 30, 2020)

I make my ABTs with half-peppers, not the upright ones.  So about any pit temp from 250°+ will work.  Once the bacon is nice and browned you are good to go.






A couple of tips....  season the cream cheese with BBQ rub (it takes more than you think), adding crumbles of cooked sausage or cooked bacon is optional.  the original ABTs had a Lil' Smokey sausage in them, but I prefer to make separate "pig candy" bites when using Lil' Smokies.   Use pretty thin bacon, deli bacon takes too long to brown and you risk overcooking the pepper and filling.


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## raselkirk (May 30, 2020)

Thanks! Mine are the "half-shell" style as well. I'm fairly new at this, the boudain doesn't need cooking, just smoke and a decent "eating" temp. I've got to contend with these ABTs and some brined chicken tenders (which I call chicken tendons, because that's all I see when I look at them). They're too small to get a probe in so I'm thinking 275° for those as well.

So with 5 hrs of smoke, boudain in at noon at 175° & out at 3pm, ABT's and chicken in, temp up to 275° until 5pm-ish? Think those tenders will dry out? I'm not sure how to check them other than cutting one open?

Russ


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## thirdeye (May 30, 2020)

raselkirk said:


> Thanks! Mine are the "half-shell" style as well. I'm fairly new at this, the boudain doesn't need cooking, just smoke and a decent "eating" temp. I've got to contend with these ABTs and some brined chicken tenders (which I call chicken tendons, because that's all I see when I look at them). They're too small to get a probe in so I'm thinking 275° for those as well.
> 
> So with 5 hrs of smoke, boudain in at noon at 175° & out at 3pm, ABT's and chicken in, temp up to 275° until 5pm-ish? Think those tenders will dry out? I'm not sure how to check them other than cutting one open?
> 
> Russ



At 275° I could see the ABTs taking 1.5 to 2 hours, but I'm with you on drying out the chicken.  I would wait to put the chicken on, I can't believe they would take more than 25 to 35 minutes.  Did you happen to brine the chicken?


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## raselkirk (May 30, 2020)

Yup, brined overnight. So I'll put the chicken on 45 mins before shutting down. If they need more, we can nuke up the centers?

Russ


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## thirdeye (May 30, 2020)

raselkirk said:


> Yup, brined overnight. So I'll put the chicken on 45 mins before shutting down. If they need more, we can nuke up the centers?
> 
> Russ



Okay, cooking by time alone is tough.  The 45 minutes is a guesstimate,  if you don't have a thermometer there is a work-around.   I'd put one tender on 15 minutes ahead, and a second one on 10 minutes before adding the rest of the chicken, these will will be your control pieces.  And make note of all the times.   Poke around and sample on those early pieces.  Let's say they are perfect after 32 minutes.... then you will know exactly how long to leave the main group of chicken in the smoker.


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## raselkirk (May 30, 2020)

I've got a probe, but these are pretty thin. Assuming I can get the probe centered OK, what should I be looking for? 160-ish?

Russ


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## thirdeye (May 30, 2020)

raselkirk said:


> I've got a probe, but these are pretty thin. Assuming I can get the probe centered OK, what should I be looking for? 160-ish?
> 
> Russ


Yes, 160° is good, and even if some are higher the brining will be a good buffer.  Now that you mentioned "pretty thin", we might be talking  ~20 minutes for cook time.  Still do the control pieces, and take as accurate of a temp as you can.


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## raselkirk (May 30, 2020)

Well, that all went well!  The ABTs were on for 2:30 at 250°, they looked burnt but tasted great. I think next time, I'll try 2:00 on these. The chicken was on for 0:45 at 250°, internal never got over 145°, but that was furthest from the vent stack so the others were likely warmer. No pink anywhere inside though. Wife wanted a T-bone done at the last minute, so it was on for 1:45 and came out perfectly done.

Thanks!

Russ


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