Decent price on whole birds last week . Already had 2 in the freezer , but couldn't pass up a couple more .
Just spun one on the Weber a week ago , then did some BBQ legs .
So I wanted to do something different .
Decided on meatloaf . Had a general idea , but found a recipe / method on America's test kitchen website .
As always , I just use that as an idea / guideline .
Started with a whole bird .
Take the wings off for a snack later .
Remove the leg 1/4's .
Removed the breast halves , deboned the legs and thighs .
Got as much meat off the carcass as I could , and removed the skin .
This will be my grind .
Along with the white and dark meat will be about half the skin ,
and 2 strips of thick cut bacon .
Got almost all the way through the grinding , and the power went out .
Figures .
Cleaned everything up . Put the chicken in the fridge and took
the dog to the park .
OK , back home , and the power is on .
Grind out of the fridge ,
No pics of this part ,
This is for 2 1/2 pounds of grind .
In a skillet I melted
4 TBL of butter Good quality salted butter .
1/2 of a medium onion saute until soft .
Then add ,
2 cloves of garlic . I smash it into a paste on a cutting board .
2 TBL Worcestershire sauce .
1 tsp thyme .
Mix that and let it cool .
For the dry ,
3 TBL of old fashioned oats , chopped .
2 tsp potato starch ( They used corn starch )
Black pepper
Dried Parsley
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano . ( they used Parm )
I figured the salt for the grind at 18g per 2 1/2 pounds .
Also added 2 TBL of nutritional yeast .
1 whole egg . ( they used 2 egg yolks )
2 TBL honey mustard . ( They used dijon )
Before mixing . Cooled onion mix on the left .
Salt , Pecorino , oats , starch on the right .
Egg and mustard in the middle .
I do that so I can see that I put everything in there .
Also salt and pepper on the egg . That way all the stuff brings it's own salt .
That's it . No extra moisture was added . I knew it was right
when it came right together . Salt and fat ratio is perfect .
Shaped into a loaf , and back in the fridge uncovered for a couple hours .
I normally add cure one to all my chicken grinds , but I skipped it this
time . So this will get some smoke , then bumped to get it cooked .
Started at 225 . Then slowly bumped to 375 .
This is about an hour in .
Pulled at 160 . I use my Thermo pen to watch the temp .
Took some decent color .
Put the foil back on it and let it rest a bit .
OK , time to slice . It smells great . Nice and smokey from the SmokeFire .
Looks pretty good . I did one pass through the 1/4 " plate .
That's the texture I was looking for . Nice and moist too .
It smells great .
So I like gravy on my meatloaf , plus it's some added insurance .
( Didn't need it though )
Did a couple boxes of au gratin potatoes , and the green beans were
a steamer bag that I added to some rendered bacon , garlic , onion ,
and beef base .
This came out way above what I expected . I figured it'd be decent ,
but this was way better than that .
There was even a " Wow , that's good ." at the table .
Daughter went for seconds , my Son went for thirds , and was standing at the counter
thinking about 4th's .
I had 4 slices myself .
That simple flavor profile , the smoke that the Smokefire puts on meat is perfect , and the
Nutritional yeast adds something to this stuff . Just a deep flavor boost or something .
Plus I think grinding my own mix is better than store bought .
Just something a bit different , figured I'd post it .
This would be great as meatballs too .
Just spun one on the Weber a week ago , then did some BBQ legs .
So I wanted to do something different .
Decided on meatloaf . Had a general idea , but found a recipe / method on America's test kitchen website .
As always , I just use that as an idea / guideline .
Started with a whole bird .
Take the wings off for a snack later .
Remove the leg 1/4's .
Removed the breast halves , deboned the legs and thighs .
Got as much meat off the carcass as I could , and removed the skin .
This will be my grind .
Along with the white and dark meat will be about half the skin ,
and 2 strips of thick cut bacon .
Got almost all the way through the grinding , and the power went out .
Figures .
Cleaned everything up . Put the chicken in the fridge and took
the dog to the park .
OK , back home , and the power is on .
Grind out of the fridge ,
No pics of this part ,
This is for 2 1/2 pounds of grind .
In a skillet I melted
4 TBL of butter Good quality salted butter .
1/2 of a medium onion saute until soft .
Then add ,
2 cloves of garlic . I smash it into a paste on a cutting board .
2 TBL Worcestershire sauce .
1 tsp thyme .
Mix that and let it cool .
For the dry ,
3 TBL of old fashioned oats , chopped .
2 tsp potato starch ( They used corn starch )
Black pepper
Dried Parsley
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano . ( they used Parm )
I figured the salt for the grind at 18g per 2 1/2 pounds .
Also added 2 TBL of nutritional yeast .
1 whole egg . ( they used 2 egg yolks )
2 TBL honey mustard . ( They used dijon )
Before mixing . Cooled onion mix on the left .
Salt , Pecorino , oats , starch on the right .
Egg and mustard in the middle .
I do that so I can see that I put everything in there .
Also salt and pepper on the egg . That way all the stuff brings it's own salt .
That's it . No extra moisture was added . I knew it was right
when it came right together . Salt and fat ratio is perfect .
Shaped into a loaf , and back in the fridge uncovered for a couple hours .
I normally add cure one to all my chicken grinds , but I skipped it this
time . So this will get some smoke , then bumped to get it cooked .
Started at 225 . Then slowly bumped to 375 .
This is about an hour in .
Pulled at 160 . I use my Thermo pen to watch the temp .
Took some decent color .
Put the foil back on it and let it rest a bit .
OK , time to slice . It smells great . Nice and smokey from the SmokeFire .
Looks pretty good . I did one pass through the 1/4 " plate .
That's the texture I was looking for . Nice and moist too .
It smells great .
So I like gravy on my meatloaf , plus it's some added insurance .
( Didn't need it though )
Did a couple boxes of au gratin potatoes , and the green beans were
a steamer bag that I added to some rendered bacon , garlic , onion ,
and beef base .
This came out way above what I expected . I figured it'd be decent ,
but this was way better than that .
There was even a " Wow , that's good ." at the table .
Daughter went for seconds , my Son went for thirds , and was standing at the counter
thinking about 4th's .
I had 4 slices myself .
That simple flavor profile , the smoke that the Smokefire puts on meat is perfect , and the
Nutritional yeast adds something to this stuff . Just a deep flavor boost or something .
Plus I think grinding my own mix is better than store bought .
Just something a bit different , figured I'd post it .
This would be great as meatballs too .
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