Don't You Mess With Texas: Dub Shack BBQ Presents Texas Twinkies

With the Super Bowl around the corner - and to an extent, NBA All-Star Weekend - Texas Twinkies are a prime time appetizer that can sit on the charcuterie board alongside those wings, chips, cheese dip (yep, I'm an Arkansan), and ribs. 

Why are they called Texas Twinkies?

Before I get into the recipe, here's the story: These “Texas twinkies” were named and made famous by Hutchins BBQ in McKinney, TX. Many of us have been stuffing peppers with cheese and meat and wrapping them in bacon for as long as we can remember but this version uses whole extra large peppers stuffed full with delicious smoked brisket, wrapped with a thick slice of bacon and smoked until perfect.

Here in Bryant, I'm doing those guys a little different.

INGREDIENTS

12 jalapeno peppers

16 oz. cream cheese

1.5 lbs leftover brisket*

12 oz. Hickory bacon, thin cut

Killer Hogs' The BBQ Rub

*If brisket is scarce around you, pulled pork is also an option. As always, make it your own..

STEP ONE. Cut a slit down the middle of the jalapeno peppers and core out both the seeds and veins. If you happen to be Bout It like Master P in the '90s or a bit on the crazy side, you may keep the vein as it rather than the seeds are how these peppers stay so hot. Try not to go through both sides of the peppers; although they are going to be wrapped in bacon, they still have to be able to hold up to the smoke. 

STEP TWO. Like anything else in barbecue, please don't forget to season the stuffing. Because I found myself on the dark side with leftover brisket and am willing to admit as such, season it and the cream cheese mixture with Killer Hogs in anticipation for stuffing beef into the peppers.

STEP THREE. Wrap the bacon around each jalapeno and give them a liberal shaking of Killer Hogs. If your smoker is not ready at 250 degrees, go ahead and do so now. This is a relatively quick cook and made better with cherry wood as a flavor additive. 

I couldn't let my smoker go empty so I also did some sausages.

STEP FOUR. In the miracle of time, the Texas Twinkies are done. If you could smell through your phones or computers, then you're in the right place. Grab one and take a big bite, and enjoy! If you feel up to it, glaze the Twinkies with your favorite sauce (I used my Dub Shack BBQ's Deez Apples) before eating.

Since we have family members, friends, and even exes who happen to live in Texas, we might as well thank the ones who have been gracious enough to bring this appetizer across state lines. Food truly brings people together regardless of income, political persuasion, sports teams, etc. so we might as well get along for at least a few hours. Texas Twinkies are ridiculously easy to make and will leave the table as quickly as they appear therefore make a ton of them. As always, thank you for reading this post and whenever the mood strikes you this week, go cook something awesome outside. Be blessed, be safe, be good to each other, and tell everyone that every day is a GREAT day for Dub Shack BBQ!