Texas Twinkies, cowboy candy — sounds like there’s a real sweet tooth happening, right? Wrong! What our friends in Texas call candies are actually jalapeño dishes, like these Texas Twinkie stuffed onion rings. A classic Texas Twinkie is a brisket-stuffed jalapeño popper. Those are already so freakin’ delicious, so I decided to give it the stuffed onion ring treatment. If you like this Texas Twinkie onion rings recipe, then make sure to also give my chorizo stuffed onion rings, burger stuffed onion rings and Buffalo chicken stuffed onion rings a try!
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
- Ingredients for Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
- Tips for the Best Stuffed Onion Rings
- HONEY INFUSED. FLAME PERFECTED.
- How to Make Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
- What to Serve with Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
- Leftovers and Reheating
- For More Spicy Peppers
- FAQs
- Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
- Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings Recipe
Why You’ll Love Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
What’s better than jalapeño poppers, onion rings and brisket? A freakin’ delicious recipe that combines all these incredible appetizers together! Plus, since we’ve got the whole operation outside, Over the Fire Cooking style, you don’t have to worry about making a mess preparing these onion rings inside. The BBQ rub and my HNY FYR BBQ Sauce give our Texas Twinkie onion rings that perfect touch of spicy sweetness to bring it all together.
To make this recipe, you can use leftover brisket or pick up some from your favorite local BBQ joint. If you’re looking for inspiration, I’ve got recipes for foil boat brisket, smoked brisket and more.
Ingredients for Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
- Texas Twinkie Stuffing: We’ll make our Texas Twinkies with finely chopped brisket, diced jalapeños, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- Onion Rings: Grab whole yellow or white onions, sliced bacon, your favorite BBQ rub and some of my HNY FYR BBQ sauce.
Tips for the Best Stuffed Onion Rings
- Give yourself time. The hardest part of this recipe is the prep. It’s kind of tedious and can take 30-45 minutes to stuff those onion rings.
- Use large onions. You’ll want the bigger size to get the right proportions for stuffing in the brisket. You’ll want to make sure the inner ring is also a decent size because the bacon has to pass through it for wrapping, so keep that in mind.
- Use thin-cut, cold bacon. Thin-cut slices of bacon are easier to wrap than the thick-cut stuff. If it warms up, the bacon gets more malleable and won’t wrap well, so keep it cold as much as you can.
Get stoked for life
HONEY INFUSED. FLAME PERFECTED.
- HONEY SWEETENED
- CAYENNE KICK
- SMALL BATCH
How to Make Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
Making the Texas Twinkie Filling
First up, let’s get your Texas Twinkie filling ready. That’ll be 1.5 pounds finely chopped brisket, 2 small diced jalapeños, 8 ounces cream cheese, 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix the filling together thoroughly and set it to the side.
Stuffing the Onion Rings
Now for the onion rings! Begin by peeling the outside layer of your 2-3 whole onions and slicing them into inch-thick rings. Grab 6-8 of the largest “rings” and inside “rings” to make the outside shape for our Texas Twinkie onion rings.
Take an outside ring and grab a handful of filling and place it in the center. Shape the filling to the outside of the onion, then place the smaller inside ring into the filling to make a “donut” shape.
Next, wrap bacon around the outside and set it on a tray. Repeat these steps until you have all the stuffed onion rings you like — you’ll need 2 pounds of sliced bacon for all the rings.
Season all the onion rings with 3/4 cup of your favorite BBQ rub, then place them in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
Smoking the Texas Twinkie Onion Rings
When you’re ready to cook, preheat your smoker for indirect cooking at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Add some wood chunks or chips for added smoke flavor if you like.
Place the stuffed onion rings on the smoker to cook for 45-60 minutes or until they reach 165 degrees F internal. In the last 10 minutes, drizzle my HNY FYR BBQ sauce over the top and glaze the onion rings. You’ll use about 1.5 cups BBQ sauce in this step. Once the BBQ sauce is “tacky” and the rings are done, pull off and let cool for 5 minutes.
Serve with more BBQ sauce for dipping on the side and enjoy!
What to Serve with Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
These Texas Twinkie onion rings have plenty of meat, cheese and vegetables (yes, jalapeño peppers and onions count). So, they’re definitely a loaded main dish or appetizer. If you want some side dishes to complement the onion rings, go for a simple green salad or grilled sweet corn on the cob.
Leftovers and Reheating
If you’ve got leftovers of these delicious stuffed onion rings, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in the oven or in an air fryer to keep them nice and crispy.
For More Spicy Peppers
FAQs
Yellow onions or sweet onions, like Maui or Vidalia onions, are best for this recipe. These types of onions have a mild flavor and are known for their sweetness. Some Vidalia onion farmers will even say you can eat one of their onions like an apple! I’ll take their word for it. Maui and Vidalia onions are technically white onions. But, they have a much higher sugar content and lower sulfur levels than typical white onions.
It won’t be a traditional Texas Twinkie, but you can definitely use a different type of meat in these stuffed onion rings. I’ve made versions with ground beef, Buffalo chicken and chorizo, and I’m sure you could try ground turkey too. Just make sure the meat is cold so it’s easier to stuff the Texas Twinkie onion rings.
You could pop them into the oven or your air fryer at the same temperature as in the recipe. Or, go with a good old-fashioned fry! For that method, heat up a pot of oil to 350 degrees F. Then, fry the prepared onion rings until they’re crispy and golden brown. Just make sure you coat them with bread crumbs for that epic crunch if you’re going the frying route.
Get The Cookbooks!
Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
All the major tastes—salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami—are explored in depth, along with an investigation of other components you should consider when it comes to flavor, such as aroma, heat, and texture.
Texas Twinkie Stuffed Onion Rings
Ingredients
Texas Twinkie Stuffing:
- 1.5 lbs Finely Chopped Brisket
- 2 small Jalapenos diced
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- ¼ cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
Onion Ring:
- 2-3 Whole Onions ideally yellow or white
- 2 lbs Sliced Bacon
- ¾ cup Big Bad BBQ Ale or your Favorite BBQ Rub
- 1.5 cups HNY FYR BBQ Sauce for glaze
Instructions
- Mix together the Texas Twinkie filling thoroughly and set to the side.
- Begin by peeling the outside layer of your onions and slicing into 1” thick onion rings. Grab 6-8 of the largest “rings” and inside “rings” to make the outside shape for our Texas Twinkie stuffed onion rings.
- Take an outside ring and grab a handful of filling and place it in the center. Shape the filling to the outside of the onion, then place the smaller inside ring into the filling to make a “donut” shape.
- Next, wrap bacon around the outside and set it on a tray. Repeat these steps until you have all the stuffed onion rings you like.
- Season all the onion rings with your favorite BBQ Rub (I used my Big Bad BBQ Ale) and set in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
- Preheat your smoker for indirect cooking at 275F. Add some wood chunks or chips for added smoke flavor if you like.
- Add the stuffed onion rings to the smoker to cook for 45-60 minutes or until they are 165F internal.
- In the last 10 minutes, drizzle my HNY FYR BBQ sauce over the top and glaze the onion rings. Once the BBQ sauce is “tacky” and the rings are done, pull off and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Serve with more BBQ sauce for dipping on the side and enjoy!
Notes
- Give yourself time. The hardest part of this recipe is the prep. It’s kind of tedious and can take 30-45 minutes to stuff those onion rings.
- Use large onions. You’ll want the bigger size to get the right proportions for stuffing in the brisket.
- Use thin-cut, cold bacon. Thin-cut slices of bacon are easier to wrap than the thick-cut stuff. If it warms up, the bacon gets more malleable and won’t wrap well, so keep it cold as much as you can.
