Well Seasoned Blog

I spend an inordinate amount of time in the backyard with my barbecue, and my theory is, if you aren’t having fun, then what are you doing it for?

Sometimes, playing with your food is a really good idea. Just for kicks, give these ideas a try.

What the heck is an ABT?

It’s a tasty barbecue treat known as an Atomic Buffalo Turd. I know the name is unfortunate, but I can promise you, once you have experienced an ABT you won’t give any thought to what they are called, you’ll just want another one.

Atomic Buffalo Turds are simply hollowed out jalapeno peppers — cut in half and stuffed with a seasoned cream cheese mixture.

Sometimes cooked bacon or sausage meat is even added to the cream cheese mixture.

The cheese-stuffed pepper is then wrapped in bacon and grilled on low heat, about 250 degrees, cut-side up until the cheese is all bubby and the bacon is thoroughly cooked.

In spite of the “atomic” part of the name these little morsels aren’t usually that spicy. Seeding and removing the membrane from the jalapeno pepper before you stuff it removes most of the heat.

The balance of the cheese and the pepper with the bacon perfectly mellows the spiciness of the peppers.

You could, of course, add some heat to your cream cheese mixture. We like to add some shredded Monterey jack, a healthy sprinkling of finely grated parmesan, Mexican chilli powder, chipotle powder and a sprinkling of smoked paprika.

No buffalo were harmed in the making of these tasty turds. A friend recently advised me that if you substitute a habanero pepper for the jalapeno pepper you will have a Nuclear Turd.

I’m just going to have to take his word for it.

Since your barbecue is on and at the right temperature, you might as well make a Moink Ball!

What the heck is a Moink Ball?

Well…very simply, it is where the moo meets the oink. Created in California by Larry Gian at http://thebbqgrail.com

Moink Balls are homemade or store-bought beef meat balls, generously dusted with your favorite barbecue spice rub, wrapped in bacon and cooked on the grill or your smoker and served with a side dish of your favorite barbecue sauce for dipping.

We like to make our meatballs from scratch, using fresh ground beef, an egg, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion, dried parsley and a little smoked paprika.

Roll them into bite-sized balls and dust them with your prepared barbecue rub.

Wrap the Moink Ball in a half slice of bacon and secure it with a toothpick or small skewer.

Prepare your barbecue so that you are cooking with indirect heat, and cook for about two hours at 250 degrees until the meat is thoroughly cooked (160 degrees) and the bacon is crisp.

Serve these little guys fresh off the grill with a couple of sauces for dipping and prepare to receive the applause. Your friends and family are going to love ’em.

Happy grilling.