# My first crack at ABTs



## manchester bob (Jul 6, 2013)

Well, I promised my buddy in South Carolina that I was going to attempt to cook ABTs this weekend. Made a couple of mistakes already: one good, one bad.

The good mistake: My wife is the cream cheese eater in the house: every morning, with a bagel. I bought some for the ABTs, and when I got home, I noticed that the color of the container was different. Turned out that I had bought "whipped"cream cheese. Man, that stuff was easy to spread! I didn't even know that it existed.

The bad mistake: I found out that you don't want to use your thumbnail to scrape the ribs and seeds out from the Jalapenos. Yowza, that burns!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






On to the Q-view. Split the Jalapenos length-wise, added the cream cheese, and being from Maryland, I had to sprinkle a little Old Bay on 'em.













ABT1.jpg



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__ Jul 6, 2013






Then, added the weenies. These were hard to find for some reason, and the only ones I could find were all-beef.













ABT2.jpg



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Finally, wrapped in bacon and toothpicked.













ABT3.jpg



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They're sitting in the fridge for now. I'm going to smoke indirect on my Weber kettle and give the WSM a break. I'll be taking these to my neighbor's party. Thank goodness there's a pool: it's hot as heck here!

I'll post the final product later in the evening. Have a good Saturday, everyone!


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## njfoses (Jul 6, 2013)

Lookin good!  The first few times i made abt's i used lil smokies and now have decided i like them better without.  Have used old bay a few times also, old bay is good on just about anything!  Post some pics of the finished product!


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## manchester bob (Jul 6, 2013)

> Lookin good!  The first few times i made abt's i used lil smokies and now have decided i like them better without.


Thanks! I checked two local grocery stores and the Super Walmart for smokies. No one had any. I had to settle for BJ's, and of course, they sell these things in three-packs. I was tempted to do some without, but since I have so many of these.......


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## manchester bob (Jul 6, 2013)

Just about ready to take them off and carry them over to the neighbor's:













ABT4.jpg



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Ran a bit hotter than I wanted at first, but I guess that really doesn't matter. Just made them get done a little faster!


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## JckDanls 07 (Jul 6, 2013)

these things aught to be awesome...   just a couple of suggestions if you were to make them again.... wear latex gloves when cleaning and assembly...  I don't cut the tops off so when you slice them in half , try to slice the stem in half as well..  they act as a little handle...  but also if you don't cut the tops off it makes like a little canoe after cleaning seeds and veins out....  it will help hold all the cheese in instead of the cheese running out from where you cut the top off and going all over your smoker....  when I wrap the bacon..  I cut the whole pack of bacon in half...  use a half of slice and start it at one end and as you wrap work your way back to the other end..  pulling pretty tight as you go...  this will create the spiral affect and cover the whole pepper....


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## manchester bob (Jul 6, 2013)

JckD: Thanks for the advice! They were a huge hit, and everyone's asking for the recipe. (Well, at least all of the people that will eat a Jalapeno. I didn't think that they were that hot, but they do catch up on you!)

I wish I had more fixings to do another batch. The party's still going on...just had to come home to haul the kids somewhere.

When I cut the tops, I cut them very close, and was careful to cut a crescent moon shape off the end. I really didn't lose that much cream cheese! It seemed like the hot fire early on created a crust on the outside of the cream cheese and held it together pretty well. I do like the idea of the stem as a handle.

I did cut the bacon in half. The Jalapeno's were bigger than they may appear, and I really had to stretch the bacon to literally make ends meet. I thought about the spiral, but the bacon wasn't long enough. Maybe next time I'll cut a third off, chop it and fry it, and add it to the cream cheese. Then, I'll have 2/3 of a slice for a spiral wrap.


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## disco (Jul 6, 2013)

Wow, do they look good. I have to give those a try!

Disco


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## manchester bob (Jul 6, 2013)

Disco: Thanks! Not only good, but easy to make, and very "forgiving". I don't think that I could have made too many of them!


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## JckDanls 07 (Jul 6, 2013)

cool Bob..   glad everything turned out good.... glad you found a good idea from my version....


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## up in smoke (Jul 7, 2013)

Did ya ever try mixing crumbled chorizo sausage (cooked) with the cream cheese before you stuff them?


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## manchester bob (Jul 7, 2013)

Up in Smoke said:


> Did ya ever try mixing crumbled chorizo sausage (cooked) with the cream cheese before you stuff them?


And do this instead of using the cocktail sausages? Sounds good!


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## themule69 (Jul 7, 2013)

Looks great.

Happy smoken.

David


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## jaybone (Jul 7, 2013)

This morning I harvested enough fresh jalapenos to fill a gallon size ziploc bag.
Thinking of using SPAM, cream cheese, and smoked white cheddar as a filler.
Gonna use the Weber gas grill for ~ 250 deg F heat and a hickory pellet filled AMNTS for smoke.
Can't wait!


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## JckDanls 07 (Jul 7, 2013)

JayBone said:


> This morning I harvested enough fresh jalapenos to fill a gallon size ziploc bag.
> Thinking of using SPAM, cream cheese, and smoked white cheddar as a filler.
> Gonna use the Weber gas grill for ~* 250 deg F heat* and a hickory pellet filled AMNTS for smoke.
> Can't wait!




FOR ME.....   200`-225` works better..  the reason being....   when you cook ABT's at a hotter temp (250` for example)..  sure, the bacon cooks quicker but there lies the problem...  the pepper itself didn't get time to cook...  at lower temps the pepper cooks to a softer texture (unless you like the crunch of a raw pepper) without the bacon being overcooked....


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## jaybone (Jul 7, 2013)

JckDanls 07 said:


> FOR ME.....   200`-225` works better..  the reason being....   when you cook ABT's at a hotter temp (250` for example)..  sure, the bacon cooks quicker but there lies the problem...  the pepper itself didn't get time to cook...  at lower temps the pepper cooks to a softer texture (unless you like the crunch of a raw pepper) without the bacon being overcooked....



Thanks, I'll shoot for 225!


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## bige (Jul 7, 2013)

Looks delicious, I'm definitely going to try these.


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## suie (Jul 8, 2013)

Those look awesome Bob, great job!!

If you have guests that don't like it spicy, you can also use baby bell peppers.


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## manchester bob (Jul 9, 2013)

Suie: Thanks! Actually, my neighbor (the husband) can't eat spicy foods, but his wife loved them. They were wondering if there was an alternative...I didn't think about baby bells. I'll have to tell them!


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## JckDanls 07 (Jul 9, 2013)

but if you clean all the seeds and veins out there is no spice left....  it's the seeds and veins that the heat comes from...  just make sure you scrape out anything that's white


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## manchester bob (Jul 9, 2013)

JckDanls 07 said:


> but if you clean all the seeds and veins out there is no spice left.... it's the seeds and veins that the heat comes from... just make sure you scrape out anything that's white


JckD: Thanks...I might not have gotten every slice of vein out, but I did get all of the seeds out. I didn't think they were that spicy, but they did catch up on you after eating a few. There are some folks that cringe when they hear the word "Jalapeno", regardless of how mild you try to prepare them.

Personally, I wouldn't want to take the "A" out of "ABT" anyway, but my neighbor might.


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## JckDanls 07 (Jul 9, 2013)

I have used the little peppers that you buy in a bag..  they are all different colors..  not sure what kind they are..  thinking there was "sweet" in the name....  but they are small and little harder to work with...no heat...


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## webowabo (Jul 9, 2013)

Whipped cream cheese huh? Must look for that. Di the whipped hold up in the smoker or did you loose some due to melting? They look great and.. they are always a hit at party's ;)
Mike


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## jaybone (Jul 10, 2013)

Finally got around to making some ABTs.
Filling is cream cheese, cherry smoked habanero white cheddar, and spring onions.
Wrapped in bacon and dusted with Jeff's rub.
2 hours in the smoke at ~220 deg F using AMNTS and Hickory pellets.

Stuffed and wrapped with bacon;













BaconWrapped.JPG



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Dusted with Jeff's rub;













Jeff's Rub.JPG



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Onto the Weber Genesis;













OnTheGrill.JPG



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About an hour into the smoke I put on a spud, onion, and tomato;













1 hour.JPG



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First victim;













1st victim.JPG



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Finished product;













Finished.JPG



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Here's a nice closeup;













Close Up.JPG



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Now I know why forum members rave about these things!
What awesome flavor.  MMMMMMM


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## kathrynn (Jul 10, 2013)

I have made them and chopped pepperoni and added it to the cream cheese....and put some shredded smoked cheddar in that too...then wrapped with bacon.  Also made what a friend called "Kat Turds".....Keith may differ with the name....
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






.  I made some using the sweet snack peppers and did them the same way as the abts.  I actually enjoyed them....I don't care for hot and spicy things.

Kat













2013 pool party 9.JPG



__ kathrynn
__ Jul 10, 2013


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## manchester bob (Jul 10, 2013)

JckD: I know what you're referring to...I've seen those bags of small mixed peppers. If my friend wants the sweeter ones, he and his wife can worry about cleaning them. I'll help with the cooking if they want. I could even taste-test one or two at no charge! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Webowabo: I didn't lose much of the whipped cream cheese at all. My pit was a bit hot, and the cream cheese formed a crust fairly quickly. That crust held it together pretty well. I did think about this ahead of time, and made sure that I didn't have a lot of cream cheese near a low spot (for mine, the low spot would be where the stem was removed).

JayBone: They look great! Fantastic job! Did you use whole pieces of bacon?

Kat: I will definitely have to try some different variations..especially at the next party. That could be fun: have a "build your own ABT" kind of thing!


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## webowabo (Jul 10, 2013)

Well good job bob.. and jay... that close up shot looks great!


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## jaybone (Jul 10, 2013)

JayBone: They look great! Fantastic job! Did you use whole pieces of bacon?

Each bacon slice was between 1/2 & 3/4 of a full length piece.
Next time I'll use 3/4 length bacon slices.


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## jaybone (Jul 10, 2013)

webowabo said:


> Well good job bob.. and jay... that close up shot looks great!



Thanks webowabo!


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## jaybone (Jul 10, 2013)

KathrynN said:


> I have made them and chopped pepperoni and added it to the cream cheese....and put some shredded smoked cheddar in that too...then wrapped with bacon.  Also made what a friend called "Kat Turds".....Keith may differ with the name....
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Kat, Yours sound good.
That's probably the only way I'll ever be able to get my wife and daughter to try em.
They turn their noses up at anything remotely spicy.


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## kathrynn (Jul 11, 2013)

Well....I am "one of those too"!  I cut the pound of bacon in half...so there are more pieces of bacon to wrap with.  With the snacking peppers...the ones I bought were really long.  Try and pick a package that have the smaller ones about the size of the jalaps.  Works better.

AND....they are really good.  I will always add those into the mix now.

Kat


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