Armadillo Eggs: Bacon, Sausage, And Cheese In One Perfect Bite

No, armadillos don’t lay eggs but if they do we could only hope that they were as tasty as these cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped sausage appetizers from “Secrets to Smoking on the Weber Smokey Mountain and Other Smokers” (Page Street Publishing Co.) by our good friend Bill Gillespie.

And if you really want to take these over the top, try substituting the store-bought breakfast sausage for our homemade breakfast sausage and/or swapping out the store-bought bacon for our homemade bacon.

(Photo credit: Ken Goodman Photography)

Armadillo Eggs Recipe

4.50 from 4 votes

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These cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped sausage appetizers are perfect for tailgating, backyard cookouts, and more.

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Servings: 24 appetizers

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

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Armadillo Eggs

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 2 cloves garlic
• 6 jalapenos
• 1 pound Jimmy Dean ground breakfast sausage
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1/2 pound ground chorizo
• 24 bacon slices
• 1 cup ranch dressing

Smokin’ Hoggz All-Purpose Rub

• 1/4 cup ground chipotle powder
• 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup ground ancho chili powder
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 1/4 cup Morton Coarse Kosher Salt
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tbsp.  onion powder
• 1 tbsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried marjoram
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 2 tbsp. green peppercorns, crushed
• 1 tbsp. ground white pepper
• 1 tsp. celery seed (or ½ tsp celery seed powder)
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger

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Method

 

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1. Prep. Finely dice the garlic.
2. Blend together the breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, and chorizo and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. For the rub, mix all of the ingredients and store the rub in an airtight container.
4. Mix together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and garlic until well blended. Taste and add salt if needed.
5. Remove the stems from the jalapeños and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and then cut the sliced jalapenos in half, so one jalapeño should get you 4 quarters.
6. Place about a teaspoon (5 grams) of the cream cheese filling in each jalapeño quarter.
7. Take about 1/3 cup (45 grams) of the sausage and pat it into a 3-inch (7-centimeter) circle and place the stuffed jalapeño in the center of the sausage. Wrap the sausage around the stuffed jalapeño until it’s completely covered, and form into an egg shape.
8. Wrap each egg with one strip of bacon making sure the seam is down. Season each egg with dry rub.
9. Fire up. Prepare a smoker or a grill for 2-zone indirect cooking. Adjust the smoker or grill to bring the temperature to about 225°F (107.2°C) in the indirect zone and place 2 to 3 chunks of your favorite smoking wood on the fire.
10. Cook. Place sausage-wrapped jalapeños directly on the top grate of the WSM. Cook for 1–1½ hours, or until the sausage is cooked.
11. Serve with ranch dressing.

Notes

About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.

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