Atomic Buffalo Turds, or ABTs

OMG! These are those yummiest things ever!!!! I know the name doesn't sound all that great, but man oh man, I swear they are awesome! Really, it's just kind of like a grilled jalapopper, but even that description doesn't do it justice. These are really versatile little snacks, because you can put whatever you want in them. I'll tell you how I do it, then I'll offer up some variations. I even have a vegetarian option!

You will need...
tooth picks
About 10 whole jalapenos
1 lb of bacon (Regular slices, not thick cut)
1 pkg cream cheese
1 lb ground pork
2 cloves minced garlic
some fresh grated ginger
your favorite seasonings

The first step is to prep your jalapenos. WEAR GLOVES!!! I can't stress this enough. The first time I made them I did not wear gloves, or use any tools to remove the seeds and membranes. My hands were on fire for about three days! I also wear safety glasses. Again, the first time I made them I didn't wear safety goggles and I got shot in the eye with jalapeno juice. Add to that the fact that the oils were all over my hands, and I was one very miserable red head! So now that you have your gloves and safety goggles, cut the tops off of each jalapeno, then cut them in half, length wise. I use a tomato corer to remove the seeds and membranes. Set these aside and start prepping the meat.

Saute the ground pork in a large pan on your stove top. Add some garlic and ginger and any other seasoning you want. Drain the grease and set the meat aside in a bowl. This usually makes too much, so I put the leftovers in a baggie and freeze it for the next time.

Now create an assembly line of the peppers, bacon, cream cheese, and meat. I like to fill the jalapeno with some cream cheese, then add the meat, then wrap a slice of bacon around the whole thing and secure it with a toothpick. Once they are all ready, sprinkle any seasoning you want all over the bacon. Grill over indirect heat for an hour, turning once, with a drip pan underneath. I have also done this in the oven, on a cookie sheet, with racks on the cookie sheet, but I prefer grilling them.

Once they are cooked don't allow too much time for them to cool, or by the time you go to get one, they will be gone!

Now for variations. I have seen these made with little smokies instead of the pork mixture, but I don't recommend it. Yes, it's easy, but not very yummy. My step dad always uses pulled pork for filling. That's yummy, but more effort than I want to do. You could try shrimp, ground beef, sausage (remove casing and cook first). I have even made vegetarian ones. For those I used crumbled veggies burgers for filling and veggie bacon. They were surprisingly yummy, and the girl we made them for was so pleased that we wanted to make sure she could have some too! I also cut the cooking time in half for the veggie ones so they wouldn't get over cooked.

These take a lot of effort, but they are worth every second you spend putting them together. I hope you enjoy them, and please let me know if you come up with any tasty variations.