Smokin' Meatloaf

I'm on a bit of a smoking kick this week.  This Friday I'm going to make Smoked Sicilian Meatloaf.  The most versatile wood I have is mesquite so I think I'll get started with that.

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Mesquite Smoked  Sicilian Meatloaf

Meatloaf

2 pounds of lean ground beef

2 tsp of ground oregano

1 tsp of onion powder

2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of basil 
1 tbsp of tomato paste
2 large eggs  
1-2 cups of fresh sourdough breadcrumbs

mild cheese ( mozzarella, Wilton new cheddar, or even Bocconcini)

sliced ham or prociutto

Rub

2 tbsp of paprika

1tsp of onion powder

1tsp mustard powder

1tsp garlic

1tbsp of white sugar

Glaze

Homemade Chili Sauce

Wood Chips or Billets


Mesquite

Start the wood chips soaking (~30 minutes).  Mix the ground beef with the listed spices, eggs, breadcrumbs and tomato paste.  On a square baking sheet place a layer of waxed paper.  Roll out the mixed ground beef until it's about 1 cm thick keeping it as square as possible.  Place a layer of grated or sliced chees staying an 2.5 cm (inch) or so back from the edges.  Place a layer of ham or prociutto on top of the cheese and then roll up the result and removing the wax paper as you roll the meat up.  Pinch the ends of the roll so that it is full sealed. Prepare the spice rub and dust the meat roll with the mix.  Start the smoker and when you have a good smoke going place the meat roll/loaf in the smoker taking care to place the seal up.  You may have to have the roll on a baking sheet or casserole dish.  Smoke at about 300F, Glaze the meatloaf with homemade chili sauce after about 30 minutes, smoke until the internal temperature reaches a safe level.   Serve with leafy green salad, pasta and pesto.

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Overall, I've had mixed feelings about the Smokin' Sidekick I bought last year and  I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to upgrade to an offset smoker of some flavor (pardon the pun).  The problem with vertical smokers is flare-ups and fires.  I've had to trim the outside off a couple of pork butts due to fires in the smoker.  The fault is inattention on my part but frankly how often can you sit and supervise a smoker for eight hours straight?  I'm thinking an offset electric or pellet smoker is going on my list.

Wilton Cheddar is the absolute best in my opinion!  Of course I've been eating it for almost forty years, I may have some slight bias.

Smokin' Chili

Thing 1 asked to watch Ratatouille for her Friday night movie so I indulged her.  I was struck by one of Chef Gusteau's lines in the movie though:

"Anyone can cook but only the fearless can be great."

With that in mind I decided to experiment a bit on the weekend to up my game.  I decided to take a dish that I feel I've truly mastered and (as long as I'm quoting chefs real and imagined) kick it up a notch.  I fired up the Smokin' Sidekick and made a pot of Smokin' Chili.  Due to the alder smoke this chili seems to be a bit salty, but it's full of smokey goodness. 

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Bugbear's Smokin' Alder Chili


2 pounds of stew meat
3 cups of alder wood
1-19oz can of diced tomatoes
1-19oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup of Great Northern Beans (dry measure)
1 orange pepper diced
1 yellow pepper diced
2-3 stalks of celery
2 cups of brown mushrooms
1-2 medium sized red onions (or vidala onions)
1 cup of corn (optional)
cayenne pepper (optional)
chili powder to taste
 sour cream


Prepare the beans the day before, soak for 24 hours in 6-7 cups of water.  Drain, rinse and then add 6 cups of water to the beans, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes.  Forty-five minutes produces a fairly firm bean while 60 minutes produces a fall-apart-I'm-so-soft bean.  Once the beans are ready combine all the ingredients except the meat in a slow cooker on high heat.  Soak the wood chips for thirty minutes and then place in the smoker.  Get a good smoke going and put the stew meat in the smoker.  Try to maintain the heat between 260 and 300 degrees flipping the meat regularly until it's cooked through.  Put the meat in the slow cooker for at minimum an hour.  Serve with a spoonful of sour cream in each bowl

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Next time I'm going to add a shot  of Dac Janiel's and bittersweet chocolate.

Smoked Pork Chops

Sunday I spent a pleasant late afternoon on the beach with Mrs. Bugbear, Thing 1 and Thing 2.  We got home at about quarter after four and I started to smoke some pork chops for supper.  The chops took about an hour and three quarters to smoke and they turned out to be very tasty.  The pork chops turned out so well I thought that I'd share the recipe.  Unfortunately like all the best recipes I didn't actually write anything down so I'll have to refine the amounts the next time. I think that I remember all the ingredients.  The rub would also do very well on smoked ribs.

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Smoked Pork Chops

Rub:

2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp  mustard powder
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground allspice
8 tbsp paprika
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

4 pork chops
Hickory or Mesquite Wood chips

Combine the rub ingredients and apply to the pork chops about two hours before you want to commence smoking.  After an hour start soaking enough wood chips  for about two hours of smoking.  The time required will vary according to the thickness of the pork chops.  After soaking the wood chips for about thirty minutes start your smoker, and put the chops in the smoker once the smoker is producing prodigious amounts of smoke.  Maintain the temperature in the smoker at about 280F.

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In related news, I've decided that my Smokin' Sidekick Smoke is not suited to smoking anything other than small items and requires too much attention for items requiring a long smoke.  I had a fire in the thing the last time I tried to make a pulled pork.  So I think that I'm going to build an indirect smoker for smoking roasts and doing ribs.