Firing up the grill or smoker? Nothing beats the flavor of food cooked outdoors, and if you’re on a keto or low-carb diet, keto BBQ recipes are always a perfect pick. Just about any kind of meat, seafood, and vegetable can go on the grill or the smoker to infuse every bite with flavor. Add your favorite keto rub to chicken, pork and beef and kiss it with flames until perfectly cooked.
Embracing Keto BBQ
Keto BBQ allows you to enjoy the rich, smoky flavors of outdoor cooking while staying true to your low-carb lifestyle. The ketogenic diet, often called the "keto" diet for short, was developed in the 1920s to reduce epileptic seizures in children. According to a recent article in Eating Well magazine, the diet requires that 80 percent of your calories come from fat, 15 to 20 percent from protein, and 5 percent from low-carb vegetables.
What Can You Eat on a Keto BBQ?
The possibilities are endless when it comes to keto-friendly BBQ. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Smoked Chicken Breast: With an easy rub and a quick trip on the smoker, you can infuse oodles of flavor into humble chicken breasts.
- Smoked Pork: Wrap a pork loin in bacon and smoke it for a tender and delicious meal. Wrapped in bacon and slowly smoked until tender and delicious, this Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin is easy, impressive, and in-your-face delish!
- Beef Tenderloin: When you really want to impress, Smoked Beef Tenderloin is the way to go. Melt in your mouth flavor makes this an outstanding dish for every occasion. Beef tenderloin is simply amazing and melt-in-your-mouth-tender on the smoker.
- Asparagus: The light smoke flavor transforms this grassy vegetable into something amazing! This is a personal preference.
- Grilled Chicken Legs: These grilled chicken legs are marinated in a fresh herb marinade before getting thrown on the grill.
- Keto BBQ Chicken: This is a go-to chicken recipe for many keto enthusiasts.
- Low Carb Grilled Vegetables: Serve these with slices of mozzarella balls for a refreshing side. These low carb grilled vegetables are served with slices of mozzarella balls!
- Keto Baby Back Ribs: These keto baby back ribs will quite literally be the best ribs you will have ever eaten!
- Smoked Onions: Smoked onions are the best side dish ever!
- Keto Poor Man’s Burnt Ends: One day, I ran across a recipe for poor man’s burnt ends. I gave it a try and what would you know.
Grill vs. Smoker: Making the Right Choice
When it comes to outdoor cooking, you have several options. Gas or propane grills have the benefit if firing up and heating up quickly, and you can control the temperature much more easily. Charcoal takes longer to heat up and maintaining the temperature is a bit harder. You will have to manipulate the coals to avoid hot spots, but the flavor is unbeatable.
Like choosing between a charcoal and gas grill, using a wood or pellet smoker is a personal choice. For me, I love my Traeger pellet smoker. I love that I can easily control the temperature, even turning up the heat to grill over high heat. Wood-fired smokers require more care and attention, regulating the temperature by adding wood or letting the coals die down.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Rubs vs. Sauces: Enhancing the Flavor
Deciding between a rub and a sauce is also a personal choice. Some recipes clearly call for one or the other, but if you want to double up on the flavor, give your meat a good rub with your favorite keto rub and then when cooked, add your favorite keto BBQ sauce.
Keto Pulled Pork: A Detailed Guide
When most people think of pulled pork they think of a delicious pork shoulder, cooked low and slow on a smoker or a (GASP) crockpot, and then drenched in Tangy Sweet BBQ sauce and maybe even a little Dr. Pepper. Delicious? Yes. Keto-friendly?
Smoking Time and Temperature
You're probably wondering, how long does it take to make keto pulled pork? The best rule of thumb I've come across is to keep smoking times per pound at about 90 minutes. Of course, this is just a general guideline. Sometimes it takes a little longer, but that is ok! When we are cooking keto pulled pork we want the internal temperature to get up to 203 degrees. The easiest way to check the internal temp is by using a good quality meat thermometer. I also use the Thermoworks Smoke to monitor the temp of my smoker and the meat inside the smoker while I'm doing other chores around the house.
Planning Ahead
One last note on cooking times. Always start your cook early. If you have a 7-pound pork shoulder, it should take about ten and a half hours to smoke on your pellet grill. If dinner is supposed to be at 5, start your cook at 4:30 in the morning. You might finish early, but that is ok! I place the wrapped pork shoulder on a pan, and then place it in my cooler, and put towels on top of it. You can let a wrapped pork shoulder sit in a sealed cooler for up to two hours and have absolutely no issues. Another great reason to invest in the Thermoworks Smoke. You can monitor your meat while it's resting. I've let pork shoulders rest in a good cooler for up to 4 hours and had no issues at all. I always let my pork shoulders rest for at least an hour.
Simple Keto Pulled Pork Recipe
You don't need to drench your pulled pork in sauce and sugars to make it taste good! Our family loves this Simple Keto Pulled Pork recipe and we are sure your family will love it too!
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Ingredients:
- Pork shoulder
- Garlic-infused olive oil
- Keto-friendly rub
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Olive Oil
Instructions:
- Get your smoker up to temp. We want to start out at 225 degrees.
- Place your pork shoulder on a cutting board, fat cap up.
- With a sharp knife, score the fat cap in a one-inch checkerboard pattern. This will allow the rub to penetrate down into the meat on all sides.
- Cover the entire cut of meat with your garlic-infused olive oil, and then generously apply your rub on all sides. Be sure to really massage the rub into any folds in the meat, you want as much delicious bark as possible!
- Place the pork shoulder on the smoker, which should be at 225 degrees.
- In a small spray bottle combine the Apple Cider Vinegar and Olive Oil
- After 2 hours, increase the temp on your smoker to 250, and generously spray your pork shoulder. Continue spraying at the top of each hour, but otherwise, leave the door on your smoker closed!
- Every cut of meat is different, but it typically takes about 90 minutes per pound to get your meat up to the magic temp of 200-203 degrees.
- Once you're there, pull the pork shoulder from the smoker, double wrap it in foil, and place it in a cooler with some towels.
- Let the shoulder rest in your cooler for 90-120 minutes. This will allow the juices in the meat to redisburse, giving you some AWESOME flavor.
- When it's time to pull the pork you can use your hands, forks, or claws. I like the claws I use…
Traeger Meatloaf: A Smoky Twist on a Classic
Traeger meatloaf is the perfect meal for a summer BBQ! This smoked meatloaf recipe is cooked on a pellet grill to give the meatloaf a unique, smoky flavor. Once you try this Traeger meatloaf, you will never go back to a traditional meatloaf again. This recipe is also low carb because instead of using breadcrumbs, we use pork panko crumbs. The Traeger pellet grill gives this classic meatloaf a smoky flavor finish.
Ingredients:
- Ground beef
- Ground pork
- Pork panko
- Egg
- Onion
- Parsley
- Heavy cream
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Add ground beef, ground pork, pork panko, egg, onion, parsley, heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper to a large bowl.
- Mix with a spoon or clean hands until combined.
- Mold meatloaf into a loaf shape and place on a perforated grill tray.
- Place grill tray with meatloaf in the Traeger with the lid closed and grill for 2-3 hours or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees.
- Remove meatloaf from the grill and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
What is a Pellet Grill?
A pellet grill is one of the most beloved advancements of barbequing. A pellet grill, or a smoker, is an outdoor cooker that uses wood pellets and fans to cook food at a specific temperature. You can use a pellet grill to smoke, braise, grill, bake, and of course, make Traeger meatloaves! We prefer to use Traeger’s signature blend for this recipe, which includes hickory, maple, and cherry hardwood flavors.
Variations to Meatloaf
The great thing about this meatloaf recipe is that you can add your favorite ingredients to make the recipe your own. If you want, you can even top the Traeger meatloaf with a sugar-free BBQ sauce. BBQ sauce will add a delicious sweet and tangy flavor to your meatloaf that will make it irresistible.
Traeger Meatloaf: FAQs
- Can I use only ground beef instead of a mix with ground pork? Absolutely! You can use just ground beef if that's what you have on hand. The pork adds extra moisture and flavor, but the beef will still make a delicious meatloaf.
- What can I substitute for pork panko? If you can't find pork panko, you can use regular panko breadcrumbs or crushed crackers as a substitute. Just keep in mind that the flavor will be slightly different.
- How should I store leftover Traeger meatloaf? Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for longer storage; just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
- Can I add vegetables to the meatloaf mix? Yes! Feel free to add finely chopped vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, or zucchini for added nutrition and flavor. Just make sure to keep the overall moisture balance in check.
- Is this meatloaf recipe gluten-free? The recipe as it stands is not gluten-free due to the pork panko.
More Keto BBQ Recipes to Explore
- Spruce-Grilled Steaks: Juicy rib eye steaks seasoned simply with coarse salt and pepper and subtly flavored with sprigs of fresh spruce-perhaps finished with a dab of butter-cook in minutes (a plus in winter weather).
- Cheese-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers: No tailgating party or Super Bowl Sunday get together would be complete without poppers.
- Bacon, Ham, and Cheese Chicken Thighs: These flavorful bundles, which can be assembled ahead of time, utilize one of the fattier parts of the chicken.
- Blistered Shishito or Padron Peppers: No formal recipe here. Simply heat a plancha or cast iron skillet on the grill grate or your grill’s side burner. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and 2 cups of shishito or padron peppers. (The two are similar.) Blister, moving around with tongs.
- Barbecued Pork Belly: Eliminate the 2 tablespoons of sugar from the rub to stay within the keto diet guidelines.
- Victor’s Shrimp: One of Steven’s most popular shrimp recipes could be the centerpiece of a Spanish tapas party.
- Tandoori Grilled Salmon Steaks: Unsweetened yogurt and fragrant spices transform salmon steaks into an exotic meal. (The egg and chickpea flour are optional ingredients. Simply replace them with more yogurt as indicated in the recipe.)
- Memphis Dry Rub Ribs: Traditional Memphis-style ribs, the kind they’ve been serving for years at the famous Rendezvous, are dusted with a dry rub but served without barbecue sauce, most of which contain sugar.
Making Keto BBQ a Lifestyle
One of the reasons we enjoy our smoker so much is because we can cook a big hunk of meat on Sunday, invite our friends and family over to enjoy dinner, and then we have "healthy" leftovers for lunches the rest of the week. I do my best to follow a keto diet for a good portion of the time, and when I'm getting really serious about the diet I completely eliminate sugars from my rubs and sauces. Everyone has their own idea of what a healthy diet is. My wife follows a version of the ketogenic diet 7 days per week. I follow a similar plan, but I include a weekly cheat day (Smoked Meat Sunday!). Most of our meals include heaping amounts of vegetables and a protein. Very few of our meals include starchy carbs like bread, rice, or pasta.
Essential Tools for Keto BBQ Success
- Smoker or Grill
- Meat Thermometer (Thermoworks Smoke recommended)
- Disposable Gloves
- Jacobsen Salt Co.
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