Barbecued Meatloaf Muffins

A meat muffin? No, no, no. That’s not right. That’s what I thought the first time I came across this idea on Pinterest. Trendy muffin-shaped foodstuffs were showing up on pinboards everywhere, and meat muffins were, by far, the weirdest. In the end, however, I decided to throw my trust behind this odd group of virtual friends, who’ve inspired not just great recipes, like Nutella Banana Muffins, but countless gift and organizing ideas too. After all, thousands of Pinners can’t be wrong, can they? Off we go 🙂

I started with a Rachael Ray recipe, adapting to what I had on hand and also switching to ground turkey to lower the fat content. You’ll definitely want to use your food processor for the chopping to get the veggies finely minced. Aside from that, it was just a bit of measuring this and that, then I used my hands to mix it all together.

The flavors were a nice twist on traditional meatloaf, with a little kick from the homemade steak seasoning tempered by the sweetness of the barbecue sauce. If your family is really sensitive to the heat of cayenne, you can remove it all together and not miss it thanks to the smokiness from the paprika. If you use store-bought steak seasoning, I doubt the heat will be a problem.

I will definitely make this again. It was a hit with all except for my youngest and my mum. The cayenne was just too much for them. The boys and I had it leftover the following night and it was just as good!  Meat muffins? I’m sold!

Barbecued Meatloaf Muffins
Serves 6-8
Adapted from The Food Network

1.3 lbs lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large celery stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 orange pepper, deseeded and cut into large chunks
1 large egg plus 1 tablespoon of milk, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons Julie’s steak seasoning (see link, or recipe below)
1 cup smoky barbecue sauce
1/2 cup tomato salsa
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Vegetable oil pan spray

Julie’s Steak Seasoning (makes ~ 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper *optional
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

1) Put onion, peppers, and celery into a food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then put them in a large mixing bowl. Add the ground turkey, egg beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning.

2) In a small bowl, combine the barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, and tomato salsa. Pour a bit more than half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix. Mix the meatloaf together with your hands. Wash up.

3) Prepare a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with spray oil. Fill each tin to the top with the meatloaf mixture. Top each meatloaf with a spoonful of extra sauce. Bake about 20 minutes. Test with a meat thermometer until it reads 180 F, or cut one open to ensure that the middle is cooked through.  Serve with roasted potatoes (same oven temp, just 15 minutes more) and sautéed summer squash.

ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY!