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!