Smoked Armadillo Eggs

Jalapeno poppers are one of my favorite appetizers and they are the perfect game day party food. The combination of the spicy crunch of the pepper and gooey cheesy center make for a perfect combination. It is also possible to create variations to the poppers and the possibilities are almost endless.

Here are some of my jalapeno popper recipes

All of those are amazing, but this recipe might just climb to the top of the list as my favorite! Smoked armadillo eggs are not an egg at all. Instead, they are a jalapeno popper wrapped and covered in sausage meat.

Oh yeah!!

I smoked these, but they could also be done on the grill set up for indirect grilling. These take a little while to cook and direct grilling would likely burn them.

Smoked Armadillo Eggs pin

The size of the jalapeno peppers varies dramatically, so the amount of meat that is needed to completely cover the peppers will also vary. Therefore, by following this recipe, you may get more or less that five armadillo eggs made.

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Core the jalapeno peppers and stuff them with the mixture of cream cheese and grated cheddar. Take a handful of sausage meat and flatten it similar to a burger patty. Place the stuffed pepper on the meat and wrap the meat around the pepper. Make sure that there are no parts of the pepper showing.

There are many different types of sausage meat with different flavors. Any of these would work fine: Italian mild, Italian hot, breakfast, honey garlic, etc.

Smoked Armadillo Eggs-6

I fired up my Bradley Smoker for making these armadillo eggs and used hickory wood, but other wood like pecan, maple and apple would work great as well. The armadillo eggs took a good couple hours in the smoker. The outside was nice and browned and the cheese was just starting to bubble out of a couple of the eggs. I used my Thermapen to check that the meat was at 160F so I knew they were done.

Smoked Armadillo Eggs-5

Smoked Armadillo Eggs

4.96 out of 5
24 reviews
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Jalapeno poppers wrapped in sausage meat and then smoked or grilled on indirect heat. Big Green Egg, Traeger, Kamado, Similar to Atomic Buffalo Turds, ABT. Use cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and Italian sausage meat or Jimmy Dean. 
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 5

Ingredients

  • 1 pound sausage meat (mild, spicy, breakfast, honey garlic, etc.)
  • 5 jalapeno peppers
  • 1/2 brick cream cheese (4 oz)
  • 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

  • Start up smoker and get it up to 250F. You could use many different types of wood for this, although I usually use hickory, pecan, or apple.
  • Cut the top off the jalapeno pepper. Core the pepper to remove the seeds and membrane.
  • Mix together the cream cheese and grated cheddar.
  • Fill the cored peppers with the filling.
  • Take some of the sausage meat and wrap it around the pepper. Make sure none of the pepper is visible. Roll it so that it is in the shape of an egg.
  • Place the armadillo eggs on a smoker rack and place in the smoker.
  • Smoke for about 2 hours. You want the temperature of the sausage meat to be 160F. Also if you notice cheese starting to bubble out of the eggs, it is likely done.
  • Serve.

Notes

Grill Method - Setup grill for indirect heat and bring up to 325F. Place armadillo eggs on the indirect side and cook for about 30-45 minutes.

Smoked Armadillo Eggs-2

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Leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. Or, take a picture to share on Instagram and tag me @theblackpeppercorn.

4.96 from 24 votes (10 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




40 comments

  • 5 stars
    Delicious the only way I want my stuff jalapeños from now on.

    • Reply
  • Can you use ground beef?

    • Reply
    • I have not tried it with ground beef, but it should work fine.

      • Reply
  • AMAZING. The sausage takes on the Jalapeno Flavor.
    This will become a gameday staple for me.
    I experimented a little bit on the thickness of the sausage around the Jalapeno. Personally – I’d recommend keeping the sausage a bit thinner than in the pictures. If the sausage is too thick it just seemed to take away from the Jalapeno Popper part of it.
    Practice makes perfect. Amazing recipe.

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    So easy to make and what a hit over the holidays! I made several extra ahead of time and wrapped them in plastic wrap to keep in the freezer. Super simple in my Davy Crockett and small enough to fit around the main dish that was cooking. I smoked at 225 until they hit 160 degrees … a little over an hour.
    AWESOME!

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    When I first saw the Title I thought “Oh God, do Armadillos lay eggs and who would eat them??” Then I had to think…Armadillos don’t lay eggs. There must be something I’m missing. The whole idea didn’t seem appealing at all so I skipped over it and went elsewhere. Suddenly, somehow they reappeared on my screen and I decided to check it out. WOW!! I am so glad i did.

    Anyway I mixed the sausage with some hamburger just because i had it handy. When finished I sliced them into 1/2 inch “chips” and served them to folks. They were an absolute hit. Now this will become a favorite of mine to serve. Thanks.

    BTW – When slicing use a very sharp knife. A dull or nearly dull one will just squash the eggs.

    • Reply
  • Is there a chance you could use green chilis? Jalapenos are too hot for me.

    • Reply
    • If you core out the peppers well they should not be hot at all. The “heat” is in the seeds and the white ribs in it…once you remove them well there’s no heat at all.

      • Reply
  • It’s kind of interesting that i stumbled across this recipe. I was making these quite some time before seeing this. But, i take my eggs one step further in divine bliss. I wrap the outside of the eggs with two slices of slab bacon before cooking.

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Delicious! I added a bit of seasoning to the cream cheese mixture, but otherwise I stuck to the recipe. I will be making these again! Everyone was drooling when I posted a pic to my Instagram stories. 🙂

    • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Just made these this past weekend. Super easy and amazing taste using Jimmy Dean sausage in my Weber Smokey Mountain, smoked for 2 hours. Added a little BBQ rub to the outside and glazed with BBQ sauce 15 min before taking them out. Amazing!

    • Reply
  • Got to say, I have never tried armadillo eggs. It looks kind of good though! Might have to try it next weekend. Just got myself a new offset smoker, so got to try it out!!

    • Reply
  • Looks delicious and what a great surprise inside!

    • Reply
  • I don’t have a grill or smoker… Has anyone made these in a regular oven? Any ideas on a good cooking temp and time?

    • Reply
    • I just made these (SO GOOD). I baked mine at 325 for about 45 minutes on a broiler pan, and they were perfect. FYI, mine were a little on the large size.

      • Reply
  • 4 stars
    Made a couple of batches, they are delicious, and I froze a dozen for New Year’s party. Anybody try bratwurst for the sausage, my local grocer sells brat patties. I will see if the will sell it by the pound.

    • Reply
    • I haven’t tried that – mostly stuck with Italian sausage, but I am sure they would work fine as well.

      • Reply
  • 5 stars
    These were so delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

    • Reply
    • Glad you enjoyed them!!

      • Reply
  • 5 stars
    Made a similar recipe in the past and they fell apart on me from being to loose. To tighten up the eggs I wrapped them in syran wrap and spun them like in making sausage. Then but them back in the fridge for a bit before smoking them. They turned out perfect this time.

    • Reply
    • Thanks for the tip! Also, I am glad these worked well for you

      • Reply
  • Buy the poppers from Fridays already made then wrap…that the timesaver

    • Reply
  • I’ve got eggs all put together to go in my smoker tomorrow. I’m a bit confused on your #5 direction. It says to roll it in egg but I don’t see an egg in the ingredients list. Is this a typo or am I reading it wrong? Excited to try them!

    • Reply
    • Could be wrong but think he just meant roll it in the shape of an egg. Looks like he might have started typing it, stopped to maybe change it but just added on. Maybe not but just how I read it.

      • Reply
      • You are right. That instruction was not clear. I edited it to be more clear. Thanks

        • Reply
        • 5 stars
          Quick question, does the jalapeno get completely cooked like a stuffed bell pepper in the oven?

          • Reply
          • While it is cooked, it does still have a little bit of a crunch. I would not say it gets as soft as how a stuffed bell pepper gets when roasted in an oven.

          • 5 stars
            If you like your peppers a bit more done pit them on the grill for a bit then in a zip lock bag while you prep the rest. I like mine soft. This does the trick

          • Great idea! Thanks for sharing.

        • 5 stars
          The were wonderful and the hit of our food booth for a school fundraiser. Thangs for a great recipe!

          • Reply
          • Awesome! So glad everyone enjoyed them.

          • Should have said “these were wonderful”. We made 40 and they were the first to sell out!

    • 5 stars
      No it says roll it in the shape of an egg

      • Reply
    • I think the shape of an egg

      • Reply
  • Tried this using hamburger meat with seasoning and onions. Was fabulous!

    • Reply
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  • 5 stars
    I wasn’t sure what to expect from the title of your dish… then my mouth fell open and a drooled when I saw what you made. Now I would love to eat some smoked armadillo eggs. 🙂

    • Reply

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