These stuffed sausage poppers are great for almost anytime and especially when you have hungry people coming to your house. Easy to make and brings a smile every time!

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 2.5 hours
Smoker temperature: 225-250°F
Meat finish temperature: N/A
Recommended wood: Hickory

• Smoked sausage (about 9 poppers per link)
• Jalapeños (about 12 slices each)
• Bacon, thin sliced (2 poppers per slice)
• Cream cheese, 8 oz box
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• Jeff's original rub recipe (purchase recipes here)
• Jeff's barbecue sauce recipe (purchase recipes here)

Most of the smoked sausage that I purchase locally comes (2) per package. Lay the links parallel with sides touching to speed up the cutting

Cut them into ¾ to 1-inch long pieces.

Use a knife to cut an “X” in the top side of each piece of sausage down about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through. Make sure to NOT cut all the way through.

Leave the cream cheese on the cabinet for about an hour prior to use so it can soften and be easier to work with.

Place the 8 oz of cream cheese into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add a good handful of grated cheddar (about a cup if you want to measure) and 3-4 TBS of Jeff's rub (purchase recipes here).

Please note: I halved the recipe to make about 20 of these and had some left over.. the full recipe will make enough for about 40-50 depending on how much you use in each one

Combine all of the ingredients. A fork works well for this.

If you have an icing tool or bag, that will work well for operations like this. Otherwise, you can just put the cheese mixture into a small ziptop bag and cut off a small corner to make a stuffing tool that will work great.

Use one hand or a helper to open up the “X” in the sausage. Put the cut corner of the stuffing tool into the opening and squeeze until it oozes out of the sides and top of the sausage pieces. Be as generous as you like. You can't get too much of this stuff.

Cut off the stem of the peppers and carefully clean out the seeds and ribs of the peppers if you want to. The peppers will be hotter if you leave some of the seeds in there.

I recommend using gloves any time you deal with hot peppers in any way.

Once cleaned, cut the peppers into slices that are about 1/8-inch thick. Thicker is fine if you want more of the pepper flavor to come through.

Lay a pepper slice on top of each piece of stuffed sausage.

Cut pieces of bacon in half.

Use ½ slice for each piece of sausage.

Wrap the bacon across the top and bottom of the stuffed sausage pieces.

No toothpick is needed in most cases as the bacon is sticky and will usually hold fine with no further pinning required.

Make up a batch of Jeff's rub (purchase recipes here) and put some of it into a cheese shaker or other spice dispenser with large holes. Sprinkle the rub onto the tops of the stuffed and wrapped sausage pieces. Be generous with the rub as it is low on salt and high on flavor.

If you haven't already, place the wrapped and stuffed sausage poppers onto a Bradley rack or a cookie sheet to aid in transporting them out to the smoker.

Setup your smoker, grill or other cooking device for 250°F. If your smoker will not get that hot, then 220 or 225 °F will work but please note that it will take longer and the bacon will not end up as firm as it would otherwise.

Use the water pan if you have one and apply smoke for at least 1 hour if you are using a charcoal, gas or electric smoker.

Leave the sausage pieces in the smoker until the bacon starts to get done (about 2 hours). At that point you can paint on some good barbecue sauce (purchase recipes here) if you want to add another layer of flavor. I think it definitely adds to the “goodness” but use your own judgement there or do some with and some without to get a fair comparison from your guests.

Let the sauce caramelize for about 20-30 minutes before removing them from the smoker.

These will go fast once you take them into the house so, eat a couple before you announce “done” and then rearrange them on the serving platter so no one will notice that a couple are missing 😉

Enjoy!

Can recipes like this be cooked in the home oven?

I mention, “other cooking device” above to let folks know that, although these recipes are intended for the smoker or indirect grill, they can also be cooked in the oven if that is a necessity for some reason.

I mention this due to all of the questions I get concerning cooking the smoking recipes in the oven.

Many of the techniques that make food so tender and juicy in the smoker will do the same in the home oven however, you will not have the smoked flavor. I do not care for liquid or artificial smoke flavoring so I cannot advise you in that department.

***Note: you get the Texas style rub recipe free with your order!

If I could give these recipes away, I would do that. I really want you to have them! But, then, this is how I support the newsletter, the website and all of the other stuff that we do here to promote the art of smoking meat.

Read these recent testimonies:

You see the raving testimonies and you wonder, "Can the recipes really be that good?"

No worries! Make up a batch and if it's not as good as you've heard.. simply ask for a refund. Now that's a bargain and you know it. Let's review:

• You decide you don't like the recipes.. you don't pay!
• The recipes are absolutely amazing!
• Once you order, there'll be no more recipe ads in the email version of the newsletter

Well.. what are you waiting for.. click on the big orange button below to order the recipes now.

I really, really appreciate the support from my newsletter friends and be sure to let me know if you have any questions about this.

The book is full of recipes and contains tons of helpful information as well. Some have even said that "no smoker should be without this book"!

With more than 800 reviews on Amazon.com and a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars, it comes highly recommended.

It is a Bestseller in Barbecueing & Grilling books on Amazon.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | German Edition

Digital versions available via Nook | iTunes | Kindle

If you enjoy the newsletter and would like to do something helpful, then..

The next time you decide to order something at Amazon.com, use THIS LINK to get there and we'll get a small commission off of what you purchase.

Thank you in advance for using our special link: http://www.smoking-meat.com/amazon

Printable Recipe

Stuffed Sausage Poppers

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

These stuffed sausage poppers are great for almost anytime and especially when you have hungry people coming to your house. Easy to make and brings a smile every time!

• Author: Jeff Phillips
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Total Time: 2 hours 20 mins
• Yield: 6-8
• Category: Appetizer
• Cuisine: Hot Smoking

Ingredients

• Smoked sausage (about 9 poppers per link)
• Jalapeños (about 12 slices each)
• Bacon, thin sliced (2 poppers per slice)
• Cream cheese, 8 oz box
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• Jeff's original rub recipe
• Jeff's barbecue sauce recipe

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the Sausage

1. Most of the smoked sausage that I purchase locally comes (2) per package. Lay the links parallel with sides touching to speed up the cutting and cut them into ¾ to 1-inch long pieces.
2. Use a knife to cut an “X” in the top side of each piece of sausage down about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through. Make sure to NOT cut all the way through.

Step 2: Make the Cheese Mixture

1. Leave the cream cheese on the cabinet for about an hour prior to use so it can soften and be easier to work with.
2. Place the 8 oz of cream cheese into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add a good handful of grated cheddar (about a cup if you want to measure) and 3-4 TBS of Jeff's rub (purchase recipes here).
3. Combine all of the ingredients. A fork works well for this. Please note: I halved the recipe to make about 20 of these and had some left over.. the full recipe will make enough for about 40-50 depending on how much you use in each one

Step 3: Stuff It

1. If you have an icing tool or bag, that will work well for operations like this. Otherwise, you can just put the cheese mixture into a small ziptop bag and cut off a small corner to make a stuffing tool that will work great.
2. Use one hand or a helper to open up the “X” in the sausage. Put the cut corner of the stuffing tool into the opening and squeeze until it oozes out of the sides and top of the sausage pieces. Be as generous as you like. You can't get too much of this stuff.

Step 4: Add the Peppers

1. Cut off the stem of the peppers and carefully clean out the seeds and ribs of the peppers if you want to. The peppers will be hotter if you leave some of the seeds in there.
2. I recommend using gloves any time you deal with hot peppers in any way.
3. Once cleaned, cut the peppers into slices that are about 1/8-inch thick. Thicker is fine if you want more of the pepper flavor to come through.
4. Lay a pepper slice on top of each piece of stuffed sausage.

Step 5: Wrap in Bacon

1. Cut pieces of bacon in half and use ½ slice for each piece of sausage.
2. Wrap the bacon across the top and bottom of the stuffed sausage pieces.
3. Try to end up with the ends of the bacon under the sausage to help hold it. Tip: Bacon can easily be stretched to adjust the length.
4. No toothpick is needed in most cases as the bacon is sticky and will usually hold fine with no further pinning required.

Step 6: Season Generously

1. Make up a batch of Jeff's rub (purchase recipes here) and put some of it into a cheese shaker or other spice dispenser with large holes. Sprinkle the rub onto the tops of the stuffed and wrapped sausage pieces. Be generous with the rub as it is low on salt and high on flavor.
2. If you haven't already, place the wrapped and stuffed sausage poppers onto a Bradley rack or a cookie sheet to aid in transporting them out to the smoker.

Step 7: Smoke Time

1. Setup your smoker, grill or other cooking device for 250°F. If your smoker will not get that hot, then 220 or 225 °F will work but please note that it will take longer and the bacon will not end up as firm as it would otherwise.
2. Use the water pan if you have one and apply smoke for at least 1 hour if you are using a charcoal, gas or electric smoker.
3. Leave the sausage pieces in the smoker until the bacon starts to get done. At that point you can paint on some good barbecue sauce (purchase recipes here) if you want to add another layer of flavor. I think it definitely adds to the “goodness” but use your own judgement there or do some with and some without to get a fair comparison from your guests.

Step 8: Serve

1. These will go fast once you take them into the house so, eat a couple before you announce “done” and then rearrange them on the serving platter so no one will notice that a couple are missing 😉