You know those meals that you can make at least once a month — just a big ‘ol batch — and happily eat? That are just so darn good that they make the cut for regular rotation? Well, in our casa, these mini meat loaves fit that bill. And get this… they are from Cooking Light!!! Yummy AND on the healthful side is difficult to achieve but is often what I am looking for on weeknights. I decided to modify the recipe a bit this week and try them out on my Big Green Egg, versus the usual-old-boring-bake-in-the-oven.
When I was thinking about what I wanted to change up, I was inspired by a few things. First, Jason @ Griffin’s Grub posted a recipe for MOINK balls recently that made me realize my mini meat loaves might work on a BGE. And, he incorporated bacon — which I both love and have been urged to include more in my recipes. (Ahem… Shelley.) And then I ran across this lovely sauce at one of my favorite foodie stores, Oil & Vinegar…
It’s for burgers but why get all literal about it? It tasted rich and full of umami and I figured it would go just as well in some meat loaves. So, I replaced the ketchup and mustard in the usual recipe with equal amounts burger starter and BBQ sauce…
I would definitely recommend using a spicy BBQ sauce here — the Dijon mustard in the original recipe adds some nice bite. My favorite thing about meat loaf is washing your hands real good and then just diving in and mixing it up. It’s kind of how I imagine grape stomping to be — fun and gooey. Once I had my mini meat loaves shaped, I put on some uncured bacon…
(You’ll notice I had doubled the recipe to make eight, versus four.) And then I slathered more BBQ on top for good measure….
My BGE was set up for indirect heat (placesetter legs up) and leveled out at around 400 degrees. I got a little crazy and put the meat loaves directly on the grate but I let them be and it all worked out pretty well. About 25 minutes later, I had these beauties all ready to eat…
My husband gave these smoky mini meat loaves the thumbs up, although he did make fun of me for making so many. As I suspected, though, they disappeared pretty fast. The whole experiment brought home for me that I can make almost anything I bake in my BGE instead. I think the true test may be desserts, so I am coming up with a sweet treat to share soon.
In the meantime, I have a unique twist on Beer Can Chicken to show ya. Look for that next.
Zen of BBQ 