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These smoked armadillo eggs are a Texas BBQ classic with a Tennessee twist. Jalapeños get stuffed with our homemade pimento cheese, wrapped in pork breakfast sausage, covered in bacon, and smoked low and slow on the pellet grill until the peppers are tender and the bacon is rendered. Finish with a sticky bbq sauce glaze, and you’ve got one serious game day appetizer.
We all know Tennessee has bailed Texas out a time or two. (Even if Texas gets lucky on the football field every once in a while.) So when it came time to make armadillo eggs on the smoker, I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I had to put my Southern twist on them.
The twist? Homemade pimento cheese – a Southern staple. Instead of the usual plain cream cheese filling, we stuffed these jalapeños with a sharp, creamy, slightly smoky pimento cheese. Then we wrapped each one in a mix of hot and regular pork sausage, covered it in bacon, and smoked them at 275°F for about 2 hours.
The result is a big, meaty, cheesy, smoky bite with a little back-end heat. Honestly, Texas ain’t got nothing on Tennessee with this one. And since you’re already making a batch of pimento cheese, you’ve got a second appetizer ready to go with a sleeve of crackers. It’s basically a 2-in-1 recipe.
What Are Armadillo Eggs?
Armadillo eggs are a popular BBQ appetizer made from a cheese-stuffed jalapeño pepper that gets covered in pork breakfast sausage and wrapped in bacon. Once it’s all wrapped up, the whole thing is roughly the shape of a large egg. They’re seasoned, smoked until the sausage is cooked through and the bacon renders, and usually finished with a bbq sauce glaze.
As for the name, the origin is a little fuzzy. Most folks agree these were probably born in Texas, the land of the armadillo, and the egg shape did the rest. Some people also think the “egg” part comes from Scotch eggs, which wrap pork breakfast sausage around a hard-boiled egg. Same idea, just with a jalapeño in the middle instead of an egg.
Now, I don’t actually know what an armadillo egg looks like. But I’ll be honest, once you wrap that sausage around a big jalapeño, it looks a lot more like an ostrich egg. Call them whatever you want. Just make them.
What Makes Our Armadillo Eggs Better Than the Rest
It’s the homemade pimento cheese. Most armadillo egg recipes call for a simple cream cheese and cheddar filling. That’s fine, but it’s a little one-note. Pimento cheese is a true Southern staple, and it brings a whole lot more to the party.
- More flavor in every bite. We use three cheeses: sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and smoked gouda. The cheddar brings the tang, the pepper jack adds a little heat, and the smoked gouda doubles down on that smoky flavor coming off the grill.
- Creamy, but it holds together. Cream cheese, butter, and mayo make the filling rich and smooth. But all that grated cheese gives it body, so it stays put inside the jalapeño instead of running out all over the grill grates.
- Pimentos, onion, and a little cayenne. These are the details that make it taste like real pimento cheese and not just a plain cream cheese mixture.
- You get a bonus appetizer. The pimento cheese recipe makes more than you need for 6 eggs. Set the rest out with crackers while the eggs are on the smoker. My wife was trying to sneak some onto crackers before we even got the jalapeños stuffed.
Ingredients Needed
- pork breakfast sausage – 2 lb. We used half hot and half regular sausage, mixed together. If you don’t like much heat, use all regular.
- pimento cheese – Our homemade pimento cheese is perfect for this recipe, because it’s just the right consistency for stuffing the jalapenos.
- bacon – 1 lb, about 2 slices per egg. We like thin-cut bacon here because it stretches further and renders faster. Stay away from thick-cut.
- jalapeño peppers – 6 large jalapeños. Look for big, straight peppers with firm skin.
- barbecue seasoning – 1 tablespoon mixed into the sausage, plus more for sprinkling on the outside. We used our own ‘Que That Barbecue Seasoning, but your favorite bbq rub works too.
- bbq sauce (optional) – For glazing at the end. Use your favorite.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the pimento cheese
Set the cream cheese and butter out ahead of time so they’re very soft and closer to room temperature. This is the key to a smooth pimento cheese. Then freshly grate the three types of cheeses (sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and smoked gouda) and set aside.
Next, make the base of the pimento cheese – basically all of the ingredients without the shredded cheeses. In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, butter, mayonnaise, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Add the drained pimentos and grated onion. Mix until smooth and creamy.
Then fold in the shredded cheeses until fully combined. Don’t over-mix. You want to see the shreds of cheese, not a paste.
Stuff the jalapenos
Slice each jalapeño in half lengthwise. Use the back of a spoon (or a paring knife) to scrape out all the seeds and white membrane.
Fill each jalapeño half with pimento cheese, pressing it down firmly. It’s fine to mound it up a little. Press the two halves back together to make a whole stuffed pepper.
*NOTE – This is much different than most armadillo egg recipes, which call for using a piping bag or a spoon to stuff the whole peppers. I found this method to be MUCH easier, and all of the cheese mixture stayed inside the armadillo eggs just fine. Plus, you’re able to stuff the peppers with even more cheese for more flavor!
Assemble the armadillo eggs
In a bowl, combine the hot and regular sausage with 1 tablespoon of barbecue seasoning. Mix well with your hands. Divide the sausage into 6 equal portions, about ⅓ pound each.
Lay a portion of sausage on a sheet of foil or parchment and pat it out into a thin, even patty. Place a stuffed jalapeño in the center and fold the sausage up around it.
Pinch the seams closed and shape it into an egg, making sure no filling is peeking out. Keep the sausage layer fairly thin so it cooks through.
Next, wrap each sausage-covered egg in 2 slices of bacon, stretching the bacon as you go so it covers as much of the egg as possible. I found it easiest to wrap one strip around the egg lengthwise first. Then change the direction of the bacon to crosswise to cover the egg completely. Tuck the ends underneath, or secure them with toothpicks.
Lightly sprinkle the outside of each egg with a bit more barbecue seasoning. Transfer to a wire rack so that they’re easy to get on and off the grill, and these armadillo eggs are ready for smoking!
Smoke the armadillo eggs on the pellet grill
Fill the hopper with your favorite pellets and preheat your pellet grill or smoker to 275°F.
Place the eggs on the grill grates and smoke at 275°F for about 2 hours. That may seem long, but you want the bacon fully rendered, the sausage cooked through to an internal temperature of 160°F, and the jalapeño soft and tender inside.
Brush the eggs with your favorite barbecue sauce. Turn the grill off and let them sit for a few minutes so the sauce can tack up.
Let the eggs rest for 5 to 10 minutes after removing from the grill. That cheese filling is HOT. Slice crosswise for a pretty round cross-section, or lengthwise into “canoes” if you want a bigger bite. Remove any toothpicks before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Make the pimento cheese up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. You can also stuff, wrap, and season the eggs a day in advance, then put them straight on the preheated smoker on game day. *We also prep these pulled pork jalapeno poppers 1-2 days in advance. Another great pellet grill appetizer!
Our armadillo eggs recipe has some back-end heat, but they’re not crazy hot. After 2 hours, the jalapeño softens and mellows out. Most of the kick comes from hot sausage and pepper jack, so swap in regular sausage for a milder egg.
Serve it with crackers, spread it on a burger, or put it on a sandwich. Plenty of folks love it on a smash burger. I’m not a big fan of it on burgers myself, but to each their own.
Go by temperature, not just time. The sausage should hit 160°F internal, and the bacon should look rendered and crispy. At 275°F, ours took about 2 hours.
Smoked Armadillo Eggs
Ingredients
For the Pimento Cheese:
- 6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 6 oz pepper jack cheese, freshly grated
- 4 oz smoked gouda cheese, freshly grated
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup diced jarred pimentos, drained
- 2 tablespoons grated yellow onion, *see notes
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
For the Armadillo Eggs:
- 6 large jalapeño peppers
- 2 lb pork breakfast sausage, we used 1 lb hot and 1 lb regular
- 1 tablespoon 'Que That Barbecue Seasoning, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 lb regular cut bacon, 2 slices per egg
- ½ cup bbq sauce, for glazing (optional)
- toothpicks, optional
Instructions
Make the pimento cheese:
- In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, butter, mayonnaise, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper until smooth. Stir in the pimentos and grated onion.
- Gently fold in the grated cheddar, pepper jack, and smoked gouda until evenly combined. Don't over-mix. *You will only need about 2 cups of pimento cheese for the armadillo eggs. The rest can be refrigerated and served with crackers as another appetizer.
Assemble the armadillo eggs:
- Preheat a pellet grill or smoker to 275°F.
- Slice each jalapeño in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and white membrane with the back of a spoon or a paring knife. Remove the stems.
- In a bowl, mix the sausage with 1 tablespoon barbecue seasoning. Divide into 6 equal portions, about ⅓ lb each.
- Fill each jalapeño half with pimento cheese, pressing it in firmly. Press the two halves back together to form a whole stuffed pepper.
- Pat one sausage portion into a thin, even patty on a sheet of foil or parchment. Set a stuffed jalapeño in the center, fold the sausage up around it, and pinch the seams closed. Shape into an egg so no filling shows. Repeat with the remaining peppers.
- Wrap each egg in 2 slices of bacon, stretching the bacon to cover as much as possible. Tuck the ends underneath or secure with toothpicks.
- Lightly sprinkle the outside of each egg with more barbecue seasoning.
Smoke and glaze the armadillo eggs:
- Place the eggs on the grill grates and smoke at 275℉ for about 2 hours, until the bacon is rendered and the sausage reaches an internal temperature of 160°F.
- Brush the eggs with bbq sauce. Turn off the grill and let them sit for a few minutes so the sauce can tack up.
- Remove from the grill and rest 5-10 minutes. Remove any toothpicks, slice in half, and serve warm.
Notes
- Dried minced onion can replace the grated onion in the pimento cheese. Rehydrate it in just enough water to cover, then drain.
- Grate cheese from the block. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents and won’t blend as smoothly.
- Eggs can be assembled up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate, then put them straight on the preheated smoker.
- For milder eggs, use all regular breakfast sausage instead of half hot sausage.
- Leftover pimento cheese keeps in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
More Bacon-Wrapped Smoker Appetizers
If you love these armadillo eggs, here are a few more bacon-wrapped appetizers from our smoker that disappear just as fast:
- Texas Twinkies – Jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and chopped brisket, wrapped in bacon, and smoked.
- Pulled Pork Jalapeño Poppers – Leftover pulled pork and cheese in jalapeño halves, wrapped in bacon and glazed with bbq sauce and hot pepper jelly.
- Smoked Pig Shots – Bacon-wrapped kielbasa cups filled with a cream cheese and jalapeño mixture.
- Smoked Chicken Bombs – Boneless chicken thighs stuffed with popper filling and wrapped in bacon.
Want even more? Check out our roundup of 9 Jalapeño Popper-Inspired Recipes for the Pellet Grill.
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