Texas Twinkies – Jalapeño Poppers Just Got Better

Hutchins BBQ in McKinney, Texas, introduced the Texas Twinkie. It was a creative way to utilize leftover brisket. I do not usually have any leftover brisket, do you? There is even a National Texas Twinkie Day.

I have made Steven’s crab-stuffed jalapeños before, but never a Texas Twinkie. Here, I will share my experience making the Texas Twinkie with a few personal twists.

Making the Texas Twinkie

I planned to follow the basic recipe which calls for brisket, cream cheese, cheese, and spice rub to be stuffed in a jalapeño and wrapped in bacon. I decided to smoke the cream cheese to boost the smoky flavor of the twinkie. Once I combined the brisket, smoked cream cheese, and shredded gouda cheese, I seasoned the mixture with Steven’s Santa Fe Coffee Rub. I felt the rub would pair well with the brisket. I also seasoned the bacon with the rub.

Here are a few tricks I learned while assembling the twinkies: A jalapeño corer made it easy to remove all the seeds. I used a toothpick to reattach the top of the jalapeño, so all the filling would not leak out as the cheese melted. I also used the toothpick as a starting point to anchor the bacon. I put the brisket mixture in a sturdy plastic bag and cut off the corner and used it like a piping bag to fill the jalapeños.

I smoked the Texas Twinkies for about an hour at 250 degrees. I then increased the temperature to 375 degrees to crisp the bacon. Once the bacon began to brown, I started to glaze the twinkies with a homemade espresso barbecue sauce.

My final twist was to top the twinkie with a fried egg. Since I was cooking early on a Sunday morning and I’d incorporated the coffee rub and espresso barbecue sauce, I figured I could turn the Texas Twinkie into breakfast.

The Results

The bacon was crispy. The beefy flavor of the brisket was not lost in the cheese mixture. The jalapeño provided heat, cut the richness of the cheese, and its texture balanced the creamy cheesy inside. The espresso barbecue sauce imparted a subtle sweetness that cut the heat of the jalapeño. The fried egg took the whole thing over the top and made for a filling and satisfying breakfast.

I also made what you might call a Jamaican Twinkie. I stuffed additional jalapeños with a mixture of leftover jerk chicken, smoked cream cheese, pepper Jack cheese, and jerk seasoning. I wrapped the jalapeños in bacon and seasoned them with more jerk seasoning. I basted the Jamaican Twinkies with jerk sauce.

Try the Texas Twinkie recipe as originally described by Hutchins BBQ or put your personal touch on it.

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