ABTs for a party.

I decided to bring some ABTs (Atomic Buffalo Turds) to a party as a side dish. I started by going to a local Mexican grocery to buy a dozen jalapeños. I figured that if I went there, I'd be most likely to get some hot (picoso) ones. Some that I've gotten at regular groceries have been disappointingly mild.

I followed pretty much the recipe I used previously including the spicy sausage. this time I chopped the sausage and mixed it in rather than quartering them and pressing them into the cheese mix. I sprinkled with a little Ancho chile powder.

Outside conditions are 61°, sunny and wind at about 10 mph.

I'm cooking in the mini using briquettes left over from a previous smoke to which I added some lit lump I used to roast some red peppers for another recipe. I used some Mesquite chips and a couple chunks of Hickory for smoking wood. The ABTs are going on the top grate with no water pan. This is a kind of indirect cooking due to the distance from fire to grate. Temperature was measured with a Maverick probe just below the grate.

time	temp	comment
2:10		ABTs on. I closed the bottom vents to about 1/3 and left the top vent full open.
2:29	289°
3:01	321°	Should peek in soon.
3:14	325°	And they're done. Probably could have taken them off sooner, but I do like the bacon a bit crisp.

They seemed to be well received by the party goers. I put them in a large cast iron skillet and reheated them on a stove top. They weren't as good as when they came off the grill, but none were left and I did get compliments on them. They varied in heat from pretty mild to hot.

For the benefit of anyone not familiar with the mini-WSM, (Weber Smoky Mountain) this is a Smoky Joe to which a middle section has been added using a Tamale steaming pot with the bottom removed. It's a very convenient size for cooks like this.