Chef Tom smokes up a batch of the cheese stuffed, sausage and bacon wrapped jalapeno barbecue staple known as Armadillo Eggs on the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Building a from-scratch southwest ranch with lime zest and juice instead of vinegar ties the dressing's flavor directly to the same southwest profile running through the peppers themselves
- Blending pork sausage and chorizo in a stand mixer first prevents the blend from cooking unevenly, since chorizo's higher moisture content would otherwise create splotchy, inconsistently cooked spots
- A water pan set underneath the armadillo eggs catches rendered fat as it drips, keeping the smoke clean instead of turning into a grease fire under the grates
- Glazing with barbecue sauce only once the bacon has fully rendered lets the sauce tack onto the surface using residual heat, rather than glazing too early and having it slide off
Category
Appetizer
Cuisine
American
Servings
12
Cook Time
1 hour 3 minutes
Calories
1550
Experience classic Texas barbecue with Armadillo Eggs! Chef Tom smokes up this cheesy, sausage-filled jalapeno wrapped in bacon for an unforgettable taste.
Ingredients
- 12 large jalapeños
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz (1 cup) sharp cheddar, grated
- 1/4 cup Southwest Buttermilk Ranch (recipe below)
-
1 tbsp R Butts R Smokin’ Honey Chipotle Seasoning
- 2 lb pork country sausage
- 1 lb Mexican chorizo
-
Big Rick’s Chipotle BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2-4 tbsp cultured buttermilk
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- 1/4 cup parsley, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh chives, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh baby dill, minced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp lime juice
- Zest of 1/2 lime
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
-
1/4 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Habanero Infused Sea Salt
-
1/4 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Tellicherry Black Peppercorns, fresh ground
Southwest Buttermilk Ranch:
Directions
- To make the Southwest Buttermilk Ranch, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 275ºF, set up for smoking.
- Slice the stems/tops off of the jalapeños. Hollow out the jalapeños, removing the seeds and ribs.
- To make the cheese filling, combine the cream cheese, sharp cheddar, quarter cup of Southwest Buttermilk Ranch and 1 tbsp R Butts R Smokin’ Honey Chipotle Seasoning in a gallon sized zip top plastic bag. Close up the bag and massage the filling to combine.
- Cut off a corner of the zip top bag and pipe the filling into the hollowed out jalapeños, filling them to the top.
- Combine the sausage and chorizo in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix the sausages together using the paddle attachment, until well blended, about 60 second. Remove from the bowl and portion into 12 (1/4 lb) balls.
- Press out each sausage ball, one at a time, then place the cheese stuffed jalapeño on the sausage and wrap the sausage around the jalapeño to full encase the pepper. Wrap two slices of bacon around the outside of the sausage, covering the surface of the sausage. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Place the Armadillo Eggs on the second shelf of the grill, and a water pan underneath the armadillo eggs to catch the fat that drips during the cooking process. Smoke at 275ºF until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF in the center of the Armadillo Eggs, about 90 minutes.
- Remove from the grill and serve with the Southwest Buttermilk Ranch for dipping.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why use lime zest and juice in the ranch instead of the vinegar a traditional buttermilk ranch would call for?
Lime ties the dressing into the same southwest, tex-mex direction as the rest of the dish. The zest in particular is a potent aromatic that adds far more flavor than the juice alone would.
Why mix the pork sausage and chorizo together in a stand mixer before wrapping the peppers?
Chorizo carries more moisture than plain pork sausage, so combining them thoroughly with a paddle attachment first prevents the blend from cooking unevenly, avoiding splotchy spots where the two meats never fully integrated.
Why does the sausage need to keep going back into the fridge during assembly?
Warm sausage gets sticky and difficult to wrap cleanly around the peppers. Chilling it between steps keeps the fat firm enough to handle, especially in hot weather.
Why set a water pan underneath the armadillo eggs on the grill?
As the bacon and sausage render, a lot of fat drips down. Catching it in a water pan instead of letting it hit the coals or heating element keeps the smoke clean rather than turning into a grease fire. It does add a little extra time to the cook, but it's worth the trade-off.
Why glaze with barbecue sauce only at the end instead of earlier in the cook?
Waiting until the bacon has fully rendered and taken on color means the sauce goes on right before the armadillo eggs come off the grill. The residual heat helps it tack onto the surface instead of sliding off a longer, wetter cook.
What internal temperature should the armadillo eggs actually reach?
This recipe pulls them at 160°F in the deepest part, which is exactly the USDA minimum for a ground pork and chorizo blend no correction needed here.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
2 out of 5 the ranch dressing and pepper stuffing come together easily indoors, but the low, indirect smoke that renders the bacon and infuses hickory flavor is central to this recipe and difficult to replicate without a real smoker.
Recipe Highlights
From-scratch southwest ranch: Lime zest and juice tie the dip into the same flavor profile as the filling.
Blended sausage-chorizo mix: Prevents uneven cooking from chorizo's higher moisture content.
Water pan underneath: Keeps the smoke clean as fat renders out.
Late-stage glazing: Uses residual heat to tack the sauce on right before serving.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 6.23 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 1550
- Carbs
- 9 grams
- Protein
- 90 grams
- Fat
- 130 grams
- Sodium
- 2693 milligrams
