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!

Habanero Death Dust Hot Wings

Oakridge BBQ Habanero Death Dust Hot Wings



Oakridge BBQ makes a wide range of dry rubs - all of them are excellent.  Now - I love hot wings but it's not just about heat - it's got to be flavor AND heat.  If you feel the same way - this is THE dry rub.  









Most hot wings are deep fried and then tossed in sauce to make the hot.  I prefer getting some dry rub on the wings and then smoking them.  I'm also a fan of soaking in a vinegar based hot sauce (Frank's) but the wings can get dried out from the vinegar and the wings will lose their flavor as they are smoked.  Obviously - I wouldn't deep fry my wings - not when I have 5 smokers in my back yard.

 You may also notice that I also don't use the standard chicken wing sized pieces - I only use full size drum sticks.  Why not?  Who wants to eat a little bit of meat off of each piece of chicken?  Not me!

I smoked this batch of wings on my pellet smoker at 250F. 

When these bad boys hit 175 F internal temp - took about 90 minutes, it was time to let them rest for a few minutes and then time to dig in.  It takes a few minutes to realize that these aren't soaked in sauce and really messy like standard bar style hot wings but once you realize how incredible these are, you won't miss wiping your hands and face after each bite.





I also cooked a second batch of wings on the WSM over charcoal and I used some apple chunks to get some extra smoke and flavor.  The charcoal adds another layer of flavor.  Up to you to decide which way you prefer.

Once the wings got up to about 160F - it was time for a little special treatment.......










Leaf Blower Time!


What is leaf blower time?  Well......

The nice thing about deep fried wings is the crispy skin.  This is tough to achieve on a smoker - BUT - when you can super heat the air around the wings, you can get that skin crispy - hence - leaf blower time.

This is a tricky operation and it took me a few times to get right.  Too much air and the blower literally blows the hot air right out of the cooker.  Make sure there is enough fuel that can take the heat.  If all your coals are burned out, this trick will not work.  Charcoal is also tough to work with as it will only get so hot.  Some nice size pieces of lump work great but they should also be started through the burn process or you may get some creosote flavor.  If you plan right and get some lump in the fire about 30 minutes before leaf blower time - say when the chicken has been on for 45 minutes - you should be fine.  I let the leaf blower idle - this was plenty of air flow and get that WSM pit up to - well.... whatever - the temp guage was pegged.  I'm guessing around 450 - 500 F.  I let this rip for about 3 - 5 minutes.  This created the perfect amount of crispiness on the skin.

Don't forget to stay properly hydrated while using the leaf blower and eating hot wings!


A final word of advise - this rub is potent!  You can really control the amount of heat by the amount of rub you put on the chicken.  Start with less than you think you need and work your way up.  This rub also has some incredible depth of flavor.  You will be completely surprised - happily surprised!

Please visit Oakridge BBQ - try all of their rubs - you will not be disappointed!

Disclaimer - Oakridge BBQ is a sponsor of the Meat, Inc.  BBQ Team but I did purchase this dry rub - it was not given to me.  I always provide an honest review regardless of the relationship with the manufacturer.

Royall Pellet Grills!

We would like to welcome Royall Wood Pellet Grills as an official sponsor of the Meat, Inc. BBQ Team!



The team has been using a wide variety of smokers over the years to cook our competition meats.  We have been using pellet grills since the very beginning - since 2005 - so we know pellet grills.  Some of the issues using pellet grills in the past have been the thin material of the cooking chamber and the quality of the grill itself.  Thin material leads to heat loss and large temperature swings.  Temp swings leads to changes in cooking times and ultimately the quality of the meat turned in to the judges or our families.  The Royall Grills have really thick hulls / cooking chambers which leads to a tighter temperature band and better quality meats.  In fact - all the material used in the construction of this grill is THICK!  Thick material equals a sturdy base, thick skin, and a long lasting unit.  This smoker is built to last!

The Royall Wood Pellet Smokers have a digital controller so you can set the cooking temp and let the controller feed wood pellets with the auger into the cooking chamber as needed.  All the units have a hot rod that automatically starts the pellets and cooking cycle.  You can't beat that!  My wife won't go near a propane grill and forget charcoal - this unit allows her to walk out to the grill, set the temp, and put meat on the grate within minutes.  Since they are all indirect heat, it is perfect for anything from vegetables, pizza, chicken, and even biscuits and pies.  This grill can cook from 400F plus down to 180F - allowing you to cook slow and low to higher temp cooks.  The auger continuously feeds pellets in as needed so you don't have to monitor the cooker as your brisket or pork butt slowly cooks to perfection.

Even though we have used this smoker only a few times, the quality of the pit is evident and we are proud to call the Royall 3000 THE competition meat pit for our team.  I encourage you to check out their web site, take a look at their product line, and then start asking me some questions so I can help you make an educated decision on which BBQ would fit you best.  You can also see this killer smoker in action at any of our competitions.  Please come see us for a full tour and some samples of the incredible food coming off this beast!

You can also visit the Royall web site for more information!