The Texas Twinkie is a jalapeño popper stuffed with cream cheese, sharp cheddar, and real smoked brisket, then wrapped in bacon before hitting the pit. Brandon Anderson, General Manager at Black's BBQ in New Braunfels, Texas, makes these for parties and cookouts. Here's how to make Texas Twinkies at home.

What is a Texas Twinkie?

A standard jalapeño popper is a halved pepper stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon. A Texas Twinkie uses the whole jalapeño, keeps it intact, and adds one thing that sets it apart: chopped smoked brisket in the filling. 

“Any Texas Twinkie is going to have a very, very good brisket in it,” Brandon says. “If you've got any brisket left over from your recent visit to the Original Black's Barbecue and you don't know what to do with it. Or if you just want to set these up for your next cookout, come down to the store, grab some brisket." 

Texas Twinkies Recipe

What You Need For Texas Twinkies

For the cream cheese mixture:

• One block of cream cheese (room temperature)
• 3 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
• Up to 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar, adjusted to taste
• Approximately ¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• About ¾ pound of chopped smoked brisket, cut into small cubes

For assembly:

• Whole jalapeños, cored and cleaned
• Regular-thickness bacon. Not thick cut.

How to Core Your Jalapeños

The method Brandon uses is a T-cut:

• Slice down the center of the pepper lengthwise
• Make a crosscut toward the stem end so the top stays attached like a hinged lid
• Use the opening to scrape out the membranes, where most of the heat lives
• Remove as much or as little membrane as you like, depending on your heat preference

This keeps the pepper intact for wrapping and helps hold the filling in during the cook.

Making the Filling

Let your cream cheese sit at room temperature for a few hours before you start, as it makes mixing much easier. 

• Combine the cream cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, seasoned salt, and sugar in a bowl. 
• Add the sharp cheddar and mix well. 
• Fold in the chopped smoked brisket last and mix until everything is fully incorporated. 

The smoked paprika will turn the mixture a warm orange color. 

Stuffing and Wrapping

Fill each jalapeño through the top opening, pressing the mixture in firmly. Pack them as full as you can without overflowing, as some spillage during cooking is normal. 

Once stuffed, wrap each jalapeño tightly in two strips of regular-thickness bacon. Do not use thick-cut bacon. It won't render properly and you risk undercooked spots. Two strips per pepper is the baseline, but add a third if needed to keep everything snug.

On the Pit

Bake at 275°F for about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. Test after 45 minutes and turn 180° if one side is browning faster than the other, particularly if you are cooking close to a firebox.

You're looking for fully rendered, golden-brown, crispy bacon. The brisket is already cooked, so food safety here comes down to one thing: get the bacon done.

Optional Glaze

Mix equal parts of your favorite Texas BBQ sauce and apple cider vinegar. The vinegar thins the sauce enough to coat the peppers evenly from a squeeze bottle. Brush it on in the last five minutes of the cook and let it tack up before pulling them off. This step is optional but worth it.

A Few Things to Know

Overfilling leads to blowouts as the cream cheese expands during the cook, so fill carefully. Regular bacon is non-negotiable. Let them cool a few minutes before eating as the filling gets extremely hot.

Texas Twinkies aren't on the regular menu at Black's BBQ, but if you'd like to make them yourself, stop by any Black's BBQ location, grab some brisket, and get to work

Watch How To Make Texas Twinkies The Black’s BBQ Way