Smoked Atomic Buffalo Turds (Stuffed Jalapeños)

By Todd Martin May 27, 2025 5 mins read 70 Views

These smoked Atomic Buffalo Turds are about to become your new favorite barbecue snack.

Don’t let the name scare you off. ABTs have been a staple on the barbecue competition circuit for decades. Think of them as jalapeño poppers taken up a notch with smoked sausage stuffed inside for a more hearty bite.

These are similar to Armadillo Eggs but with the meat stuffing inside the jalapeño.

Why you need to try these Smoked Atomic Buffalo Turds

These smoky bites are easy to prep, endlessly riffable, and always the first thing gone at a game day party.

Endless variations – Swap in habaneros, use venison or chorizo instead of sausage, or fill them with crab meat or buffalo chicken dip. These work with whatever’s in your fridge.
Customizable heat level – Remove the seeds for a mellow burn or mix them into the filling for an extra kick
Mid-smoke snack – Perfect for when you’ve got space on the grates or want something low-effort to serve during a long cook.

Plate of smoked Atomic Buffalo Turds—bacon-wrapped jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and sausage—served with a side of barbecue sauce for dipping.

Ingredients you’ll need

Fresh Jalapeños – Choose larger peppers for easier stuffing, or swap for sweet peppers for kids or spice-challenged adults
Cream cheese – You can also use Pimento cheese, or combine cream cheese with a cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Smoked pork sausage – You can swap for crumbled chorizo, breakfast sausage, or pulled pork
Bacon – Thin-cut bacon will crisp up faster
BBQ rub – I like to use a sweeter style rub, like our pork rub, or grab your favorite store-bought rub.
BBQ sauce – This is optional, but you can brush some on for the final 10 minutes as a glaze, or serve it on the side as a dipping sauce.

Ingredients for Atomic Buffalo Turds arranged on a wooden cutting board, including fresh jalapeños, cream cheese, bacon slices, smoked sausage links, and a bottle of Pitmaster’s Pick BBQ rub.

How to make Atomic Buffalo Turds

1. Prep the sausage and jalapeños

To prep your jalapeños, you want to chop off the end with the stem attached, then slice them down the middle lengthways.

Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and stems. I highly recommend wearing gloves because jalapeños can vary in spice level, and you don’t want to risk touching your eyes (or anything sensitive).

jalapenos on a wooden chopping board with ends being cut off

scraping seeds out of a jalapeno half with a spoon

Cut the smoked pork sausage into quarters, and then cut each of the quarters into quarters lengthways.

a whole smoked pork sausage being cut on a wooden chopping board

The sausage pieces should be long enough to fit neatly inside each jalapeño half. For me, that was around 3-inch lengths

pieces of smoked pork sausage on a wooden chopping board

2. Assemble

a hand holding half a jalapeño stuffed with cream cheese

To assemble your ABTs, use a spoon to fill each jalapeño half with cream cheese.

jalapeño half with cream cheese and smoked pork sausage

Add a piece of sausage.

the start of wrapping a jalapeño in bacon

Wrap the whole thing in bacon. Depending on the size of your jalapeños, you may need to use a whole piece of bacon or get away with half a piece.

So long as you wrap tightly and try and and finish at the bottom of the pepper you shouldn’t need toothpicks to hold these together.

Place them on a wire rack or jerky tray and sprinkle on a bit of your favorite BBQ rub. You can place them directly on the grates of your smoker, but with fiddly items like these I like to use a rack to make getting them on and off easy.

atomic buffalo turds with bbq seasoning on a wire rack

Then they’re ready to hit the smoker.

3. Smoke

Preheat your smoker to 250°F.

You can cook these on just about any grill or smoker you like, but I really prefer to smoke them to add extra smoky flavor that takes them to the next level.

I used my Grilla Grills OG. It’s a smaller pellet grill that packs a major punch with great smoke flavor.

For wood, I used Bear Mountain Gourmet BBQ pellets, but any pellets you have should work just fine.

atomic buffalo turds on a wire rack in the smoker

Once your grill is preheated, you can place the ABTs directly on the grates or use a wire rack to make them easier to handle.

They take about two hours to cook, but start checking them around the one-hour mark. Watch the bacon, and when it’s looking nice and crispy, these are ready to enjoy!

a wire rack full of cooked atomic buffalo turds

4. Serve

You can enjoy these atomic buffalo turds on their own or serve them alongside your favorite barbecue sauce (we have a great homemade sauce recipe). I like to serve the sauce on the side so my guests can dip to their heart’s content.

There’s no need to rest these, but if you want to serve them later, just wrap them in a foil-covered pan and leave them in your smoker or oven at its lowest setting.

a atomic buffalo turd being held in the air

More spicy smoked appetizers

After you’ve tried ABTs, you’ll want to come back for these smoked appetizer ideas.

Jalapeño Cheese Squares

Double Smoked Jalapeño Poppers

texas swinkies on a plate with dipping sauce

Texas Twinkies: Jalapeño Stuffed With Leftover Brisket

Jalapeño Popper Shotgun Shells