# Something different?



## Sowsage

Ok I'm making a pulled pork and some ABT's for a chrismas get together. And just ABT's for another. I'm looking for some different ideas to stuff/wrap/season. Something other than the usual that i do. Most the time its just cream cheese , cheese and a little rub and they go over really well. Was thinking about maybe using brie and some kind of jam to stuff them with??? I dont know. Anyone have any ideas? Something more along the lines of holiday type appetizers.


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## tropics

Here are some stuffed Cherry Peppers that are always a hit at a party.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/easter-ham-stuffed-cherry-peppers.278678/

Richie


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## ab canuck

If you are not looking exclusively at ABT's you could try meat candy.
 They are an appy we started making a couple yrs ago.
 Pit large medjool dates
 Hot / Spicy Italian sausage, Stuff dates plump
 Wrap in bacon and smoke / grill / bake until bacon is cooked and stuffing is cooked.
 The sweet and spicy combined with bacon are great. My wife does not eat dates but loves these treats.
 We did some ABT's and stuffed with shrimp and cream cheese then bacon wrapped, they were quite good.


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## daveomak

When wrapping ABTs with bacon, I find it's easier to partially cook/bake the bacon until it has shrunk and toughened up...  Wrap while it is limp...  then you get crisp bacon on the outside..


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## chilerelleno

Add pulled pork, bacon or shrimp to the filling.
Add a tropical fruit salsa, chutney or jam.
Such as mango or pineapple.
Yes, use different cheeses, find good soft melting cheeses.

Use whole chiles not halves.

Batter and deep fry them.

Using a large whole jalapeno, stuff with a whole shrimp and cheese, wrap in half a strip of bacon, batter and deep fry.
We call those Range Rattlers.


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## Sowsage

ab canuck said:


> If you are not looking exclusively at ABT's you could try meat candy.
> They are an appy we started making a couple yrs ago.
> Pit large medjool dates
> Hot / Spicy Italian sausage, Stuff dates plump
> Wrap in bacon and smoke / grill / bake until bacon is cooked and stuffing is cooked.
> The sweet and spicy combined with bacon are great. My wife does not eat dates but loves these treats.
> We did some ABT's and stuffed with shrimp and cream cheese then bacon wrapped, they were quite good.



Man this sounds really good. I'm definitely making the Aunt's but I may have to add this to go along with!


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## Dafish13

I did an experiment with different cheeses and the surprising winner was goat cheese.  Cut the stems off the jalapeños, clean out the inside, blanch in boiling water for about 1 minute, stuff with goat cheese and smoke upright.  You get a milder pepper that has great jalapeño flavor and the goat cheese works really well.


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## Sowsage

Dang auto correct. ABT's! Lol


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## Sowsage

Dafish13 said:


> I did an experiment with different cheeses and the surprising winner was goat cheese.  Cut the stems off the jalapeños, clean out the inside, blanch in boiling water for about 1 minute, stuff with goat cheese and smoke upright.  You get a milder pepper that has great jalapeño flavor and the goat cheese works really well.


My family loves goat cheeses! Thanks!


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## Sowsage

chilerelleno said:


> Add pulled pork, bacon or shrimp to the filling.
> Add a tropical fruit salsa, chutney or jam.
> Such as mango or pineapple.
> Yes, use different cheeses, find good soft melting cheeses.
> 
> Use whole chiles not halves.
> 
> Batter and deep fry them.
> 
> Using a large whole jalapeno, stuff with a whole shrimp and cheese, wrap in half a strip of bacon, batter and deep fry.
> We call those Range Rattlers.


Thanks for the ideas. The shrimp sounds fantastic!


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## Sowsage

daveomak said:


> When wrapping ABTs with bacon, I find it's easier to partially cook/bake the bacon until it has shrunk and toughened up...  Wrap while it is limp...  then you get crisp bacon on the outside..


This sounds like a great idea! Seams like it would help keep the bacon sticking to itself when wrapping.


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## Sowsage

tropics said:


> Here are some stuffed Cherry Peppers that are always a hit at a party.
> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/easter-ham-stuffed-cherry-peppers.278678/
> 
> Richie


These loom great! Not sure if i could find any cherry peppers this time of year though.


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## Sowsage

Ok so question about stuffing with shrimp. Should I add raw or cooked shrimp?


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## chilerelleno

Raw shrimp or it'll over cook.
I put a shrimp in and then pipe my cheese mix in next to it.
A Ziploc bag with a corner cut of makes filling chiles very easy.


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## tropics

Sowsage said:


> These loom great! Not sure if i could find any cherry peppers this time of year though.



I use jarred cherry peppers,you can get mild or hot
Richie


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## chilerelleno

tropics said:


> I use jarred cherry peppers,you can get mild or hot
> Richie


I remember those Richie.
Dang, my list of things to cook just keep it getting longer and longer.


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## Sowsage

chilerelleno said:


> Raw shrimp or it'll over cook.
> I put a shrimp in and then pipe my cheese mix in next to it.
> A Ziploc bag with a corner cut of makes filling chiles very easy.


Ok, that's that's what I figured. Thanks! I have used the zip lock trick several times. Works awesome!


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## Sowsage

tropics said:


> I use jarred cherry peppers,you can get mild or hot
> Richie


Ok. I'll see if I can find them. I guess I never thought of using jarred or canned peppers.


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## kawboy

I've been mixing sugar-free Apricot jam and cream cheese in mine lately, we really like them.


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## fivetricks

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/ref-cranberry-abts.279659/

This idea looked super interesting to me. I've yet to try it myself :-)


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## TomKnollRFV

fivetricks said:


> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/ref-cranberry-abts.279659/
> 
> This idea looked super interesting to me. I've yet to try it myself :)


I was about to suggest the cranberry thing and..well thanks for the shout out there Fivetricks!


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## fivetricks

I remember reading that thread specifically. Like I said, very interested :-)


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## gmc2003

You can also use little smokies(cocktail sausage) in your ABT's. 

Chris


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## Sowsage

fivetricks said:


> https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/ref-cranberry-abts.279659/
> 
> This idea looked super interesting to me. I've yet to try it myself :)


The cranberry sounds very "holiday like" thanks for sharing!


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## fivetricks

Idk if it's as much holiday like as a "sweet and spicy" thing. You'd have to speak to the author of the thread about that though.

I believe he's been seen hanging out in this thread...


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## TomKnollRFV

It started out from my love of cranberries. But cranberries are pretty darn holiday like I suppose.

I try to get low sugar dried cranberries, it's the natural tartness that offers the contrast after all. So far, no one's ever said they didn't like them, and even a batch of 20 peppers is gone pretty quick!


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## Sowsage

TomKnollRFV said:


> It started out from my love of cranberries. But cranberries are pretty darn holiday like I suppose.
> 
> I try to get low sugar dried cranberries, it's the natural tartness that offers the contrast after all. So far, no one's ever said they didn't like them, and even a batch of 20 peppers is gone pretty quick!


I can see the "tartness" being a great addition! With all these great ideas getting thrown around I may have to make multiple batches! Lol


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## TomKnollRFV

Sowsage said:


> I can see the "tartness" being a great addition! With all these great ideas getting thrown around I may have to make multiple batches! Lol


That is the way to do it. Remember, you can prep things the night before too. I always wrangle my dad into helping, we do it assembly line style. One of us puts in the cheese, another does the bacon wrap. Help's alot when doing 20+ peppers. <I cut mine in half, so they resemble pepper boats.

Just remember to take all the pictures!


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## Sowsage

TomKnollRFV said:


> That is the way to do it. Remember, you can prep things the night before too. I always wrangle my dad into helping, we do it assembly line style. One of us puts in the cheese, another does the bacon wrap. Help's alot when doing 20+ peppers. <I cut mine in half, so they resemble pepper boats.
> 
> Just remember to take all the pictures!


Assembly line style defiantly helps! My 5 year old loves to help with stuff like this so its should be a fun time .


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## TomKnollRFV

Sowsage said:


> Assembly line style defiantly helps! My 5 year old loves to help with stuff like this so its should be a fun time .


Sounds perfect! Good to get them into making food early on!


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## Sowsage

TomKnollRFV said:


> Sounds perfect! Good to get them into making food early on!


Pick up the stuff to put these together tonight. About how much cranberries do you recommend per block of cream cheese?


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## TomKnollRFV

Sowsage said:


> Pick up the stuff to put these together tonight. About how much cranberries do you recommend per block of cream cheese?


I think I started with half a bag..though no idea what size bag you had, and what I use! So start with a 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tPB8CeFdVTZXVBxB7

You need to roughly chop them by the by! Or I did. But the above picture was the final result. So you can get an idea. Really I'd add a whole bag and not bat an eye, but I -really- love my cranberries!


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## Sowsage

TomKnollRFV said:


> I think I started with half a bag..though no idea what size bag you had, and what I use! So start with a 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup.
> 
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/tPB8CeFdVTZXVBxB7
> 
> You need to roughly chop them by the by! Or I did. But the above picture was the final result. So you can get an idea. Really I'd add a whole bag and not bat an eye, but I -really- love my cranberries!


Thanks! I'll start with a 1/2 cup. I baught the biggest bag they had because my kids and wife will snack on them too. Lol. I'll post pics tomorrow. Think I'll do them on the old UDS.


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## TomKnollRFV

I can't wait to see how you like them :) I added garlic into mine when I make em, but I'll add garlic to almost any thing. Don't think you even would notice garlic with the cranberries To be honest!


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## Sowsage

Ok got them wrapped up and on the UDS. These things look amazing! Ended up doing half of them with a wedge of brie and just pressed the cranberries on top. My boys were excited to help! After wraping in bacon I dusted them with some garlic pepper. I'll post more pictures after they come out of the smoker.


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## TomKnollRFV

The lil tike looks the most excited! LOL! 

Sure look nicer then mine, my bacon always ends up half on and crooked ..lol


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## fivetricks

Like the way you tucked the extra bacon in on the ends. May have to add that to my technique.


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## Sowsage

TomKnollRFV said:


> The lil tike looks the most excited! LOL!
> 
> Sure look nicer then mine, my bacon always ends up half on and crooked ..lol


The little is always happy! Until bed time. Then nit so much! Lol


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## Sowsage

fivetricks said:


> Like the way you tucked the extra bacon in on the ends. May have to add that to my technique.


I usually lay about a inch or so of the bacon down on the fat end of the pepper first. Then start to wrap it around. It really helps keep all the stuff from running out during the cook.


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## Sowsage

They are out of the smoker and cooling for a few minutes before we try them out.


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## TomKnollRFV

Sowsage said:


> They are out of the smoker and cooling for a few minutes before we try them out.
> 
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> View attachment 382744


Let me know what you think!!


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## chilerelleno

Yum! Is what I think.


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## Sowsage

Ok both kinds are really good but my wife and I preferred the cream cheese over the brie. We felt like the brie kind of lost its flavor after being cooked with everything else. The cranberries are a keeper for sure! The tang with the peppers really hit the spot! Thank you TomKnollRFV!  Great recipe!


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## TomKnollRFV

Sowsage said:


> Ok both kinds are really good but my wife and I preferred the cream cheese over the brie. We felt like the brie kind of lost its flavor after being cooked with everything else. The cranberries are a keeper for sure! The tang with the peppers really hit the spot! Thank you TomKnollRFV!  Great recipe!


Thanks!

Glad you liked it! Now I want to make some.. LOL


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## Sowsage

Lol. Now I want to make More that I dont have to share!


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## fivetricks

I'm glad to see someone else do a run of them and to see their opinion of them :-)

They're gonna be hitting my UDS at some point soon.


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## TomKnollRFV

Sowsage said:


> Lol. Now I want to make More that I dont have to share!


Try that whipped cream cheese too. It's lighter in calories, and the chive stuff is good. If you can find Weber's Honey Garlic rub, it's great mixed right into the cream cheese.




fivetricks said:


> I'm glad to see someone else do a run of them and to see their opinion of them :)
> 
> They're gonna be hitting my UDS at some point soon.


Well tis the holiday season, perfect time to sneak in cranberries and get every one addicted..


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## jokensmoken

Dafish13 said:


> I did an experiment with different cheeses and the surprising winner was goat cheese.  Cut the stems off the jalapeños, clean out the inside, blanch in boiling water for about 1 minute, stuff with goat cheese and smoke upright.  You get a milder pepper that has great jalapeño flavor and the goat cheese works really well.


I like a 50/50 mix of goat cheese and blue cheese...so good...
Walt


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## TomKnollRFV

Alright Walt..that sounds good. I've only now begun to appreciate goat cheese, it's alot milder then I remember from when I tried it as a kid. Back then it was comparable to Limburger in my mind!


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