What If You Put a Meatloaf in Your Smoker?

The intersection of America on a plate
Photo Credit: TH

The Recipes First
Smoked Meatloaf
- One (1) lb. 80/20 ground beef
- One (1) chorizo link
- Four (4) garlic cloves
- One (1) egg
- One (1) slice white bread, soaked in whole milk
- One-half (1/2) orange pepper, diced
- Salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste
- hickory wood chips

Place ground beef into bowl. Squeeze chorizo out of the casing into the meat. Add the egg, diced pepper, and saturated bread. Using a garlic press, crush the cloves into the mixture. NOTE, if you don't have a garlic press, chop garlic finely before adding to mixture. Season ingredients and then mix thoroughly with your hands until you no longer see large clumps of chorizo or bread within the mixture. Form the meat into a loaf and place into the smoker, using dry hickory chips as the smoke source. Set temperature no greater than 250°F. Begin checking temperature after two hours. When the internal temperature at the center of the loaf is 165°F, the loaf is finished (165°F is the safe consumption temperature of pork/sausage). Remove from the smoker, and allow to rest for at least five minutes before slicing and serving.

All About the Kielbasa: Big Daddyz BBQ, Folsom, PA

It's all good but keep your eyes on that sausage in the upper left corner
Photo Credit: TH

While Philadelphia and its surrounding suburban areas aren't exactly known for barbecue, it's not like places that serve good 'cue are hard to find. No one is ever going to mistake any style of slow-smoked meats and homespun sides as uniquely Philadelphian. The folks here are surly, insular, and prideful, but they're certainly not self-important like the magazine editors who proclaimed "Brooklyn BBQ" to be a thing instead of just gentrified Memphis, Texas, or Kansas City styles served in smaller portions for jacked-up prices. Barbecue isn't as plentiful here as it would be in those locales, and the width and breadth of BBQ joints pale in comparison to how many different places you can get a good cheesesteak. That being said, whether it be Sweet Lucy's or Fette Sau, you can find good 'cue in the area.

Sweet Lucy's: Philadelphia, PA

YES
Photo Credit: TH

What: Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse
Where: 7500 State Road, Philadelphia, PA
Website: sweetlucys.com
Order: Brisket platter with macaroni and cheese, cheesy creamed spinach, Tennessee string beans, cornbread, ginger ale

In Northeast Philadelphia, the holy trinity of spots for good eats consists of Las Margaritas, Blue Duck Sandwich Co., and Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse. I've been to all three several times, especially since I called the section of Philly my home for the first 25 or so years of my life (even though Blue Duck got there after I moved out). In a city with a heavy Mexican population, Las Margaritas is a no-brainer. Philly is a hotbed for hipsters and college kids, so Blue Duck makes sense. But finding barbecue outside of the South can be risky. But trust me, after years and years of eating at the joint, Sweet Lucy's is the real deal. My latest meal was just another piece of evidence to its bona fides.