Carnivore Smoked Meatloaf
Introduction
As anyone who follows me or read some of my more recent posts knows, I am a dietary carnivore and try to only consumer meat and meat byproducts such as cheese and eggs. And while I adore this lifestyle and credit it to saving my life, there are times I get a slight craving for some comfort food from my youth. One of those go to comfort foods was meatloaf. Now I know there are vastly differing opinions on meatloaf and severe levels of people loving it or hating it, and I belonged to the camp that absolutely adored it. One of my favorite things to eat from my past was a cold, sliced meatloaf sandwich! That being said, I whipped up a recipe that ended up being so similar to the original (this doesn't always work lolol) that the difference was imperceptible.
The Ingredients
- 2lbs of ground beef
- Four large eggs
- 3 ounces of ground pork rinds
- Strips of bacon
- Seasoning Salt
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
I didn't give volume for the seasoning because, to me, that boils down to personal preference. I have noticed I prefer saltier versions of recipes than prior to adopting a carnivore lifestyle. However, I would say to go generous on the garlic powder (can substitute minced garlic as well) because, well, you can never have enough garlic.....amiright! Note- some strict carnivores will not use spices and seasonings, but I have found my body tolerates it extremely well and I choose to do so. If you are following a strict carnivore diet, just be aware that the spices and seasonings can cause some inflammation
The Prep
Take the ground beef and and place in a large mixing bowl and add each egg as you blend them into the beef. You can use a spoon or spatula, but I find that gloving up and using your hands produces the best results and the most thoroughly combined mixture. Next, you add the ground pork rinds and seasonings and, again, mix thoroughly. The eggs and pork rinds act as binding agent that takes the place of using traditional breading that are extremely heavy in carbs. Take the thoroughly mixed bundle of perfection and shape it into a football shape (American football, no soccer ball shaped meatloaves, please!!!) and place it on a cutting board.
You now get to exercise your artistic abilities and wrap this glorious mound of meat with the most holy of all cuts....BACON! Before starting this section, run outside and fire your smoker up and set it to 225 degrees F. It is important to make sure your thoroughly cover the entire surface of the meatloaf. If you are having a hard time keeping the bacon in place, you can secure it with wooden toothpicks, just remember to take them out after smoking to avoid sever watery eyes from a toothpick piercing the roof of your mouth! OUCH!
Now is the easy part....once the smoker is at temp., gentle place this orb of meaty perfection directly onto the grates and wait for culinary ecstasy to be created before your very eyes! I have a CampChef electric smoker (my best purchase in years) and so it is basically a set-it-and-forget-it situation for me. I add the temp probe and take the meatloaf off the grill when it hits 155 degrees internal temperature.
Once the proper internal temperature is met, remove the meatloaf from the smoker and allow it to rest before cutting. Allowing meat to rest is an extremely important part of smoking and grilling that many people overlook and don't even realize what they are missing in terms of moisture and flavor enhancement. I usually allow all my grilled and smoked meats to rest at least 15 minutes and some cuts more depending on if they were smoked or grilled.
Once you let 15 minutes elapse, take a sharp knife (cuts through the bacon better) and slice the meatloaf into desire thickness of slices. If you used toothpicks to hold the bacon in place, now would be a perfect time to remove them. Plate the slices up and dig in....congratulations you have graduated to premier carnivore chef!
Check out that smoke ring! There is nothing more satisfying to a smoker than seeing that red ring pop! That's it, a simple, easy way to recreate a childhood favorite while staying fairly loyal to the parameters of the carnivore diet. What do you guys think? A homerun or a dud? If you give this recipe a try, I would love, love, love feedback and to know how it turned out for you. If you have any questions on any of the ingredients or steps, just leave me a comment and I will answer.
All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter,
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
-Tolkien
