Chef Tom shows you a next level recipe with his delicious brisket and smoked cream cheese stuffed, bacon-wrapped Texas Twinkies! Savory, smoky, and undeniably mouthwatering.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- A vegetable peeler makes cleaning jalapeños far easier than a spoon. Using it to scrape out seeds, pith, and veins through the slit gets the pepper genuinely clean without tearing the flesh, unlike fighting with a spoon in a narrow opening.
- Softening the peppers on the smoker first makes stuffing them easier. A 20-30 minute pre-cook on the second shelf pre-softens the jalapeños, so they're more pliable and less likely to split when packed full of filling.
- Leftover brisket gets a second life as a stuffing base. Combining it with smoked cream cheese and a splash of sauce turns already-cooked meat into a rich, cohesive filling rather than wasting it.
- A full bacon wrap does the cooking and the presentation at once. Wrapping each stuffed pepper in bacon before its second trip to the smoker renders the bacon fully while protecting the filling, finishing both components together.
Texas Twinkies
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 2 users
Category
Appetizer
Cuisine
American
Servings
12
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 2 minutes
Calories
362
Chef Tom fires up the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill for brisket and smoked cream cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped Texas Twinkies!
Ingredients
- 12 large jalapeños
-
1 cup leftover Texas brisket, chopped
- 8 oz smoked cream cheese
-
2 tbsp Firebug Mild Grillin’ Sauce
- 24 slices classic cut bacon (not thick)
-
Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold
-
Firebug Mild Grillin’ Sauce, for brushing
Directions
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 300ºF, set up for smoking.
- Using a paring knife, slice a slit lengthwise in each of the jalapeños from step to tip.
- Place your jalapeños on the second shelf of the smoker for 20-30 minutes to soften.
- While the jalapeños are softening, combine the chopped brisket, smoked cream cheese and two tablespoons Firebug Mild Grillin’ Sauce in a bowl and mix well. Transfer to the fridge to chill.
- When the jalapeños are softened and cool enough to handle, clean out seeds/pith/veins from the jalapeños. I find a vegetable peeler to be the best tool for this job.
- Stuff the brisket/cream cheese mixture into jalapeños through the openings you sliced. Fill the jalapeños full of the filling. Don’t overfill.
Season the outside of surface of the Texas Twinkie with Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold.
- Transfer the peppers to the second shelf of the smoker and cook at 300ºF until bacon is rendered, about 60 minutes. Brush with Firebug Mild Grilling Sauce.
- Serve warm.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why use a vegetable peeler to clean out the jalapeños?
It scrapes seeds, pith, and veins out cleanly through the slit without tearing the pepper flesh, which is much harder to do with a spoon in such a narrow opening.
Why soften the jalapeños on the smoker before stuffing them?
A 20-30 minute pre-cook makes the peppers more pliable, reducing the chance they'll split once packed full of the brisket and cream cheese filling.
Can I use fresh-cooked brisket instead of leftovers?
Yes — any cooked, chopped brisket works well here; using leftovers is simply a convenient way to repurpose meat from a previous smoke.
Why wrap the stuffed peppers in bacon before the second smoke?
The bacon renders fully during the final cook while also protecting the filling, so both the wrap and the stuffing finish together in one step.
Can I make the filling ahead of time?
Yes — mixing the brisket, cream cheese, and sauce and chilling it in the fridge ahead of time makes assembly quicker when you're ready to stuff and wrap the peppers.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5 — a home oven at the same 300°F can soften the peppers and render the bacon; the smoker mainly adds a layer of smoke flavor you'd be missing indoors.
Recipe Highlights
Peeler-cleaned jalapeños: This method cleans out seeds and veins without tearing the pepper.
Pre-softening on the smoker: A short initial cook makes the peppers more pliable for stuffing.
Repurposed leftover brisket: Combining it with cream cheese turns already-cooked meat into a rich filling.
The full bacon wrap: This renders during the final cook while protecting the filling inside.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 3.9 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 362
- Carbs
- 24 grams
- Protein
- 11 grams
- Fat
- 24 grams
- Sodium
- 1272 milligrams
