Rogue Meatloaf!

Rogue Meatloaf!

 

I was browsing recipes for making meatloaf and read that you can use pork cracklings/chicharrones ground up finely instead of bread crumbs. Whoa... taking meatloaf to the next meaty level. Obviously, I needed to try this out. Sprouts grocery store has a decent selection of ground wild game, such as wild boar and buffalo which I used for this loaf. My base recipe is from Alton Brown and I've tweaked it a little to suit my own tastes. The original recipe calls for baking in the oven, but I wanted to try it out on our Big Green Egg grill and it ended up having a deep smoky flavor in addition to the loafy meatiness.

Recipe adapted from http://altonbrown.com/meatloaf-recipe/

Ingredients

4 ounces pork cracklings/chicharrones
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 onion, peeled and quartered
1 carrot, cleaned and broken into chunks
3 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
16 oz ground beef or buffalo
16 oz ground pork or wild boar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Prepare your grill/smoker/Big Green Egg for 325 F temperature. I use oak lump charcoal and have a smoker box I fill with smoking chips. I used hickory chips to get a bacon-like hint of smoke. I used indirect heat, with the grill lined up flush with the felt/opening level of the egg. Note that I put in the smoking chips at the last minute to get as much smoke as possible in the food. 

Combine the pork cracklings, black pepper, cayenne, chili powder and thyme in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is like sand. Transfer to a large bowl. 

 

Mmmm pork dust

 

Combine the onion, carrot, garlic and red bell pepper in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pureed. Add to mixture. 

Veggin' it up

Add the ground meat to the bowl.

Add the salt, then the egg to the mixing bowl, and using your clean hands, combine thoroughly.

 Meaty mash

Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. You can either shape it yourself or you can shape the meat using a loaf pan and plop it out onto the paper. Lining the pan with plastic wrap is a good idea! (Forgot to do this in this case as you can see from the picture)

Ready for the grill

Insert the probe of a remote oven thermometer so that the tip is in the middle of the loaf. Set the thermometer alarm to go off at 155 degrees F. 

Place on the grill, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, brush the BBQ sauce onto the loaf for an even covering. Place back on the grill, cover, and cook until the loaf reaches 155 degrees F. I think it took maybe an hour to fully reach temperature.

Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Voila!

Sugar Free Lemon Cake with Honey Lemon syrup

So. Many. Lemons. 4 fell from our lemon tree just today! Our tree produces massive quantities of the bright yellow fruit. I've given away countless bags full of them, and it seems like the tree still has a ton of them. One of my favorite recipes to use some fresh lemons is a modified lemon pound cake. The use of buttermilk and a lot of lemon zest adds a zesty tang to contrast with the delicate sweetness of the loaf.

The key to having a light texture is using cake flour. It's also important that the normally "cold" ingredients such as butter, eggs, and buttermilk are at room temperature. Your cake won't set in the middle correctly if it isn't. I use a no calorie mixture of stevia/xylitol and Splenda/sucralose for the loaf, and a honey-lemon syrup that I pour over the cake after it has cooled.

Sugar Free Lemon Cake with Honey Lemon syrup

Makes 2 loaves, approximately 16 slices

1 lb butter, room temperature

½ cup Stevia/Xylitol blend

1 ½ cups Splenda

1/3 cup lemon zest

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp kosher salt

3 cups cake flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¾ cup buttermilk

¼ cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda and reserve in a bowl (Dry ingredients).

Combine buttermilk and lemon juice in another bowl (Wet ingredients).

Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Alternatively you can use muffin tins.

Use paddle attachment for stand mixer. Cream butter and sugars in stand mixer at medium setting until fluffy, approx 6 minutes. Add in lemon zest, and eggs one at a time while mixing. Add in vanilla extract and salt.

Alternate between mixing dry ingredients and wet ingredients in mixer, starting and ending with the flour mixture.

Pour into loaf pans and place in oven for 45 min to 1 hour, until tester comes out clean. The internal temperature will be 210 F.

While the cake is baking make the honey lemon syrup.

Honey Lemon Syrup

½ cup lemon juice

½ cup honey (Can also use agave nectar)

Combine lemon juice and honey in a small saucepan. Heat on low.

Once cake is done let cool for 10 minutes. Pour honey lemon syrup over cake and let absorb.

About Me

Food is universal. It is comfort. It brings back memories of travels, of childhood, of family traditions. When all else fails, no matter how different I might be from someone I know, we can always connect through food. If you have a spirit of adventure but limited funds and time for travel, food is a great way to connect to a country's culture.

I feel that trying a new recipe, experimenting with my own dishes, and going out to restaurants is in itself a form of adventure. As someone that always needs to be trying something new, through food I can transport myself to an exotic locale without the exorbitant international travel fees.

It seems odd to find a plethora of restaurants and a variety of food to try in a desert, a place typically associated with wide open land and limited resources. But much like its namesake, the Phoenix area has risen from humble beginnings to become a sizeable metropolitan area. The food scene here might not be as large as say, LA or NYC, but we do have very notable restaurants and a variety of regional and ethnic cuisines.

I've always loved food, whether it's making it myself or going out to a restaurant. As a kid I'd help my mom make traditional Taiwanese dishes. For her it was a labor of love and a way to connect with her homeland. Since we rarely went back to Taiwan, it was also a way for me to connect with my heritage and part of my culture.

What's my style of cooking? I like to try everything. I'm not afraid to experiment with ingredients. I like to put a twist on some classic cuisines. Sometimes I'll substitute ingredients that I might find in my pantry. Cooking does not always have to follow a cookie-cutter mold.

I hope you enjoy my culinary tour and adventures!