Smoked Meatloaf

Smoked Meatloaf!

Classic comfort food that usually has leftovers for some great sandwiches the next day!

• Pretty basic recipe:
• 1 1/2 lbs of ground chuck
• 1 1/2 lbs of ground pork
• A few bell peppers
• 2 eggs
• A sweet onion
• Garlic Salt
• Pepper
• Smoked paprika
• Your favorite rub

Combine ground meats, eggs, and add spices to your taste.

Dice bell peppers and sweet onion.

Combine with ground meats.


















I smoked this meatloaf on a plank.  It allows for maximum smoke on the meat while still allowing the meat to stay together during the cooking process.  Remember to soak the plank and never use planks over a direct fire.

I very liberally coated the meatloaf in one of my favorite dry rubs - Simply Marvelous Cherry Rub.  You can get all the Simply Marvelous dry rubs on line from Big Poppa Smokers.  All the flavors are great and I suggest getting all of them!

I smoked this meatloaf on a pellet smoker using apple pellets at a pit temp of 250F.  I used a probe and set the alarm for 165F internal temp.

I made some garlic cheese mashed potatoes to go along with the meal and when the meatloaf internal temp was about 155F I loaded up the ramekins and put them on the smoker to finish with the meat.


















 I let the meatloaf rest on the counter for about 10 minutes and then sliced!

The ground pork helped make this meatloaf really moist and the bell peppers and the onions added some color and a little sweetness.

The Simply Marvelous dry rub created an awesome bark on the outside of the meatloaf too!

 I plated up the meatloaf with the smoked mashed garlic cheese mashed potatoes and a side of Brussel sprouts sauteed with bacon.  An epic meal!

Let's eat!

POINK Balls!

POINK Balls!

Wha wha what?  What in the wide world of sports is a POINK Ball?  It all started when I saw a recipe on The BBQ Grail.  The recipe was for MOINK Balls - Moo + Oink = MOINK - basically the recipe called for (beef) meatballs wrapped in bacon and smoked slow and low.  Sounded great to me!  Tried it!  Possibly one of the best things I've ever put in my.... er.... they were awesome!

Lately I've been kinda more picky about my meats.  I'd like to get as fresh as possible and know what's in my meat.  Ground Beef can be anything - ground chuck is better - it has to be what it says on the label - ground beef is - well - beef - honestly, that sounds kinda generic.  Back to the story.

No ground chuck.  Drat!  There goes my whole idea of MOINK Balls.  Wait a minute - what about ground pork?  I'm already wrapping these bad boys in bacon so obviously, I'm down with pork.  Would they be called OINK Balls?  POINK just sounds funner.....  So.....

Ground Pork - 2.5lbs
Bacon - Thick Cut - 1lb
Seasoning - whatever you think would work!

I added about 6 table spoons of Kirkland (Costco) Sweet Mesquite Seasoning to the ground pork.  You can use whatever meatball recipe you have but I was keeping it simple.  No bread crumbs, no eggs, nothing special.  I was worried that the meatballs would fall apart but they didn't.  This worked fine.

 I tried to form the meatballs into 1oz balls but they kept getting bigger as I went so instead of fighting my urge, I rolled with it.  They ended up around 2oz I'm guessing - a little bigger than golf balls.

 I cut the bacon pack in half and wrapped each meatball with a 1/2 piece of bacon.

Upon further inspection, you can see that I did not mix the Sweet Mesquite into the ground pork very well.  Next time I promise to do better.

 I thought adding another layer of flavor wouldn't hurt - since I didn't mix the Sweet Mesquite in too well, this would add another pop of flavor - Simply Marvelous Cherry Rub.  Steph from Simply Marvelous doesn't pay me (he should) for these comments so straight from my heart - buy his products!  You will NOT be disappointed!  All of his dry rubs are - well - Simply Marvelous!

 I put a healthy amount of the Cherry rub on each POINK Ball - then I flipped them over for another coat.

 Don't be shy with the dry rub!










I smoked the POINK Balls on my Royall 3000 Pellet Grill @ 225 F.

Disclaimer - Meat, Inc. BBQ Team is proudly sponsored by Royall!

No Royall Pellet Grill yet?  You can cook these on any direct heat source: charcoal, gas grill, or even in the oven!



You might have noticed that I had a few pieces of bacon left over.  If I had made the meatballs the correct size, this probably wouldn't have happened - BUT - I'm not going to throw away the tastiest meat known to man.  Let's make a little Pig Candy!  Basically sprinkled some more Cherry Rub on both sides and put the strips of bacon on the grate.



After about 1 hour, I flipped all the POINK balls over.  Not really needed since I was cooking indirect but it's nice to see the grate marks on the meat.  After 1 hour the internal temp was about 145F.






After 2 hours or so, the internal temp was around 180F.  Overcooked for pork for sure but I wanted to make sure the bacon was completely done.  I was mostly determining the "doneness" by the look of the bacon but I like to take the temperature of my ......um..... I like to verify the temp of my .....er.... I have to see if the meat is done.



I plated the POINK Balls up with some Napa Cabbage Slaw topped with Pig Candy and a side of pork chops.  Now, that's a meal!

 I was a little worried that the pork meatball would be dry since the internal temp was so high but it was super juicy!  You can see the smoke ring penetrated almost all the way to the center.  You can also see my poor job if spice distribution in the ground pork but - I can't beat myself up forever!

Let's eat!

Salmon on the Smoker!

Salmon on the smoker!

This is not "smoked salmon". Smoked salmon is technically a piece of salmon that is brined and then cold smoked (under 95F). At the end of the process the salmon is cured. After it is cured it is ready to eat. You are more familiar with smoked salmon as lox or in the gold foil pack that you can get in the Seattle airport or as a holiday gift. This recipe is for smoking salmon - in other words - cooking salmon on a smoker!

There are plenty of ways to prepare salmon - specifically brining the fish. E-mail me and I'll get you some killer brining recipes for salmon but in this case, I didn't have the extra 4 - 5 hours to brine it properly so I used a really great dry rub to get some killer flavor on that fish....

I used Simply Marvelous Apple Rub. It has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy with a hint of apple wood that makes this fish sing. Do yourself a favor - visit this site and purchase a sample pack. You will NOT be disappointed! You can use your favorite dry rub but make sure that it doesn't have too much salt or heat. You want a little sweetness to pull this flavorful fish through.

Sprinkle on a heavy layer of the rub on both sides. Don't be shy with this rub.

Let this rub sit on the fish for 30 or so minutes to let it melt into the fish and let that flavor penetrate a bit.

While you're waiting for the dry rub to melt into the fish, get the sides ready A perfect side for this dish is some bacon wrapped asparagus. It takes about 60 minutes on medium or 275 F grate temp to finish up the bacon. You can't rush bacon!

I used Grill Grates to cook this fish on. Fish can get tender and fall apart during cooking. I realize that on a smoker you usually don't have to flip the meat cooking but I wanted to get some grill marks on the fish - it came out perfect.

I smoked the fish and bacon wrapped asparagus using a blend of apple and oak pellets at a grate temp of 250F. You could also cook these in the oven at the same temp but watch out for the bacon drippings in the oven. On a gas grill you should cook on indirect heat and use the Grill Grates. The fat drippings from the bacon could easily start a flare up fire.

On a side note - get these Grill Grates if you have a propane or charcoal grill and can't cook using indirect heat. They will improve your cooking technique and make you look like a pro!
Here's a shot of the fish after they've been flipped. Looking great!

Let's plate this chow up - salmon on the smoker, bacon wrapped asparagus and some steamed rice.

Here's a shot of the salmon cracked open with a fork. Super moist and really full of flavor. The dry rub and fish oil on the plate mixed with the rice added to the side.

Let's eat!

BBQ Beef Sandwich

BBQ Beef Sandwich!



This recipe uses 5 basic items in the recipe including the beef! I started with an easy to find piece of meat - Chuck Roast. It is an inexpensive piece of beef available in almost any grocery store around.


I got my piece of meat from a local rancher that focuses on grass fed, open range beef - MM Livestock. They also have a blog with lots of good ideas and information. If you don't live in Southern California, check out the web and see if you can find a beef rancher similar in your area! Not only does the beef have incredible flavor, the self sustaining theory of the rancher is refreshing in this rushed lifestyle most of us live.


Here's the 5 basic ingredients:
Beef Chuck Roast
Worcestershire Sauce
Simple Marvelous Sweet & Spicy Dry Rub
Apple Juice
BBQ Sauce

You can find Simply Marvelous on line here. Their dry rubs are amazing and can be used on almost anything. I suggest purchasing the 5 Pack Variety. You will not be let down!

If you don't have Simply Marvelous you can use your favorite dry rub. If the rub has a heavy or really spicy flavor, don't over do it, you want each layer of flavor to compliment, not overpower the other layers of flavor.

Rub the Worcestershire sauce liberally over the beef. You can't use too much! This will add a layer of flavor and allow the dry rub to stick to the meat. Let it soak in for 15 minutes or so and then apply the Simply Marvelous dry rub heavily over the meat. Let it rest for a 1/2 hour or so to allow the rub to melt into the meat.

While the meat is soaking in flavor, start your smoker. I smoked this chuck roast just like a brisket. Smoker was set at 225.

You could also use your oven or on the gas grill if you cook using the multi zone method. Turn the burner on the left side on it's lowest setting and place the meat on the far right side. Try and maintain the grate temp near the meat at 225F.

You can see that by the time the smoker was up to temp, the dry rub has completely melted into the surface of the meat.

Keeping with the brisket cooking method, I smoked the chuck roast until the internal temp reached 170F and then placed in a 1/2 pan with 1/4 cup of apple juice and then tightly covered in foil to continue cooking.

As soon as the internal temp hit 205F, I pulled the foil off and let it rest uncovered for 1/2 hour. This does two things - allows the bark or outside crust of the meat to harden up a bit to set the bark. It also stops the cooking process. If you wrap up a big piece of meat like this and rest it immediately, it can and usually will continue to cook and the internal temp will creep up 3 - 7 degrees. In some cases, this may be helpful. In this case it was not. The internal temp was already where I wanted it.

Now that the bark has firmed up, it's time to rest the meat. Wrap your meat in a few layers of heavy duty foil, then wrap in a towel and place in a clean dry cooler. Let the meat rest for at least 1 hour but no longer than 3 hours. You don't want the meat to cool down below 145F. Resting the meat allows the juices in the meat to redistribute throughout the meat ensuring tenderness and juiciness.

After you rest the meat, slice it in 1/4" - 1/2" thick slices and then cross cut the same thickness - kind of cubing up the meat.
After the meat is cubed up add to a pan and throw in your favorite sauce.
Mix up the sauce adding a little at a time. You don't want the flavor of the sauce to overpower the meat and dry rub - they should all add layers of flavor, complimenting each layer.
Throw that meat on a bun and eat!