Travel Destinations & Culinary Adventures

Traeger

Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib

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Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com. 

This recipe is the BEST prime rib I’ve ever tasted! Also known as standing rib roast, this beef cut is tender and worth the price per pound. We treated ourselves to Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib for the Christmas holiday. One bite and I was already planning when we would serve it again.

While a bit of preparation is required, it is worth the effort. The process of dry aging a bone-in prime rib is actually quite easy. After patting the meat dry with paper towels, wrap it in 2-3 layers of cheese cloth and secure with kitchen twine. Store the prime rib on a tray or cookie sheet in the refrigerator for seven days.

When you’re ready to cook it, remove the cheese cloth and apply a heavy coat of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to the outside of the prime rib. Lightly coat the meat with vegetable oil and use your hands to really press the seasoning into the flesh of the beef. The seasoning will form a thick bark or outside crust during the cooking process. (You don’t have to allow the meat to come to room temperature before cooking it.)

Smoked Prime Rib

To get the hickory flavor, prepare the prime rib on a Traeger grill or similar smoker using wood pellets. For this recipe, a 4 lb. bone-in prime rib required two hours of cooking time followed by 30 minutes of resting time before serving. The end result was a tender cut of beef with light smoke flavor. You’ll love the crusted bark!

Use a extremely sharp knife to cut about 3/4″ pieces and serve it alongside creamy horseradish and beef au jus. I suggest serving it to your guests with sautéed asparagus and smashed garlic potatoes.

Why wait until a special occasion to enjoy Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib? Treat yourself!

Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib

One Delightful Life
Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib is the best way to serve this tender cut of meat to guarantee incredible flavor.
Print Recipe
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 4 lb. bone-in prime rib
  • vegetable oil
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Bring your Traeger smoker or grill to 250 degrees.
  • Smoke the prime rib roast for two hours or until the internal temperature reads 125 degrees.
  • Remove the prime rib from the smoke or grill and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minute before slicing to serve.

Notes

You may want to trim the excess fat from each slice prior to plating.

Dry Aged Smoked Prime Rib

 

Smoked Jalapeno Poppers with Gorgonzola and Buffalo Sauce

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Nothing says Super Bowl Sunday like stuffed jalapeño poppers and this recipe is a game day winner.

Nearly everyone serves stuffed jalapeños at their tailgate parties but what separates my recipe from theirs comes down to one added ingredient. Hickory smoke. These spicy bites will still satisfy game day guests even if you can’t smoke them on a Traeger because of the added gorgonzola and buffalo sauce flavor. And everything tastes better wrapped in bacon!

Watch the droolers gather around the kitchen when you bring in a platter of perfectly smoked poppers. The heat of the jalapeño, not the hottest on the Scoville Chile Heat Rating Guide for peppers, still brings noticeable mild to medium heat. If you’re serving beer, I strongly recommend you try a few of my more recent favorites Old King Krolsh (purchase a growler at Bricktown Brewery) or Boulevard Brewing Company’s Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale. They’re considered approachable beers by most craft brew drinkers and pair well with this appetizer.

If you leave the pepper’s membrane or seeds inside you’re guaranteed to light your mouth up with much more heat. Remove the insides with a metal spoon prior to stuffing them.
After mixing the cheese ingredients, you can begin stuffing each pepper with the filling.

The key to preparing this appetizer before game kick off time is to make sure you’ve prepped and preheated your smoker. We used Pit Boss’ BBQ Hardwood Pellets in Competition Blend pellets inside our Traeger the day we smoked these beauties.

Beginning at one end of the pepper, tightly wrapped the entire pepper in a slice of center cut bacon. You don’t need a toothpick to secure it.

While this recipe is meant to serve two people using three large halved jalapeño peppers you can certainly multiply it if creating more poppers for guests. I chose to include a small amount of store bought buffalo sauce into the mixture. If you wanted to crank up the heat even more, you could simply drizzle it on top making for a more colorful presentation too.

Should your team fall to the opponent during the game, you’ll still feel like a winner knowing that you served a delicious appetizer that everyone loved. Now, go fire up the smoker!

Smoked Jalapeno Poppers Gorgonzola and Buffalo Sauce

onedelightfullife.com
Your guests will rush the kitchen when they see you're serving smoked jalapeno poppers on game day. Touchdown!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, grilled
Cuisine American
Servings 6 poppers

Ingredients
  

  • 3 large jalapenos
  • 1/3 of a 8oz cube of cream cheese softened
  • 2 T. gorgonzola cheese
  • 1 T. buffalo sauce
  • 6 sliced center cut bacon

Instructions
 

  • Turn on the smoker according to directions to 350 degrees. (If you're not using a Traeger, prep your smoker according to directions.)
  • Half each jalapeno with a knife.
  • Hollow out each jalapeno halve using a metal spoon to rid of all membrane and seeds.
  • Using a fork, mix the filling ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Fill each jalapeno halve with cheese filling.
  • Gently wrap each jalapeno halve with one strip of bacon. Tuck the ends under the pepper and place end side down on the grill.
  • Smoke the jalapeno poppers with the lid closed for 15 minutes.
  • Remove and let rest a couple minutes before serving.

Apple Wood Smoked Teriyaki Pork Loin with Grilled Pineapple and Cilantro Rice

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What good is warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” – John Steinbeck

I admit it. I’ve got the end of summer blues. But my mood was lifted while eating Apple Wood Smoked Teriyaki Pork Loin with Grilled Pineapple and Cilantro Rice from the grill yesterday. The sweetened pineapple and smoked meat flavors from the Traeger helped me hold on to summer just a little bit longer.

While I’m offering a confession, I also have to admit something else. I’ve fallen hard for our Traeger Tailgate smoker. You could easily prepare this recipe without smoking the meat, but I prefer the sweet smoke flavor the apple wood pellets give the pork loin chops. My mad crush on our Traeger is a win-win for everyone in our household since my boyfriend refuses to use our Weber propane grill and our lonely Bubba Keg sits untouched in the corner.

I hope this recipe helps you enjoy the final fleeting moments of summer as well. It’s an easier-than-it-looks recipe to execute on the grill and is forward in flavor. I’ve enjoyed sharing summer delightful recipes with you this season. Sign up for the ODL monthly newsletter and get newly released fall recipes, travel tips, and DIY ideas straight to your inbox.

grilled-pineapple-cilantro-rice
Trim and core an entire pineapple and cut it into spears before placing on the grill. I actually grilled these using a cast iron grill pan indoors to leave space available in the Traeger.
grilled-pineapple-cilantro-rice2
Trying to eat “light,” I didn’t want to make pineapple fried rice and instead combined grilled pineapple chunks, cilantro, and lime juice with white microwaveable rice. Easy!
Teriyaki is typically made with soy sauce, sake, and honey.
When grilling in a Treager, place the pork loin chops and don’t move them until cooking time expires. No matter what type of grill you use, a meat thermometer should read 140 degrees before chops are removed. Allow the chops to rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

I encourage you to use leftover pineapple to make my Grilled Pineapple and Peach Silver Tequila Cocktail to go alongside your pork loin dinner. Love this recipe? Tell me about it below in the comment section or pin it to make it again.

Smoked Teriyaki Pork Loin

Apple Wood Smoked Teriyaki Pork Loin with Grilled Pineapple and Cilantro Rice

onedelightfullife.com
Layers of sweet and tangy flavors make your mouth water between bites as you eat this Hawaiian inspired grilled entree.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 day 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 day 40 minutes
Course dinner, grilled
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • Teriyaki Marinade for 2.5 lbs pork loin chops:
  • 1/2 c. soy sauce
  • 1/4 c. water
  • 2 T. rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1 T. honey
  • 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • Rice:
  • 1 c. white rice
  • 1 c. water
  • 2 c. diced grilled pineapple
  • 1/2 c. chopped cilantro
  • juice of 1/2 lime
  • pinch red pepper flakes optional

Instructions
 

  • Mix all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl and transfer to a large Ziplock bag.
  • Place 6 pork loin chops (2.5 pounds) inside of bag and seal tightly.
  • Place bag in refrigerator for at least one hour.
  • Removed outer pineapple surface and core pineapple.
  • Slice the cored pineapple into large spears. Set aside.
  • In the meantime, turn on wood fired grill and insert apple wood pellets (Traeger) or turn on propane grill to medium heat.
  • Place pineapple spears on the grill surface. Turn when grill marks appear on each side. Remove pineapple and allow to cool before cutting it into chunks.
  • Cook white rice according to microwave directions.
  • Remove rice from microwave and allow it to cool slightly.
  • Add cilantro, chunked grill pineapple, and lime juice. Stir well with a fork.
  • Remove marinated pork loin chops from bag and place on 400 degree hot grill.
  • Grill each side about 7- 8 minutes. Check for doneness. No matter what type of grill you use, a meat thermometer should read 140 degrees before chops are removed.
  • Remove the pork chops from the grill and allow them to rest on a plate for 5 minutes.
  • Serve hot with the pineapple rice on the side.

Notes

Add a small pinch of red pepper flake to the cooked rice, if you like it spicy.

Smoked Pork Loin

Grilled Greek Pizza

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I think it’s great that in Greek culture a common saying is “Να ζήσεις,” which means “may you live well.” I completely agree.

How is that Greeks look so at ease and happy all day long? (Oh, and that tan, olive colored skin!) They live to eat and socialize while doing it. They also appreciate quality seasonal ingredients such as fragrant herbs like parsley, oregano, and dill.

Grilled Greek Pizza is a no fuss recipe and it is packed with vegetables and Mediterranean flavor. I cheated and used a bottle Tzatziki sauce, made with creamy greek yogurt, in an effort to save time. Honestly, it was still delicious. We grilled our pizzas in our newly purchased Traeger giving them a slightly smoked flavor.

Bring on the ouzo! Grilled Greek Pizza is layered in fresh flavors reminiscent of the Mediterranean and is a lighter substitute for dinner.
Bring on the ouzo! Grilled Greek Pizza is layered in fresh flavors reminiscent of the Mediterranean and is a lighter substitute for dinner.

Turn on the patio cafe lights and create your own ambience while enjoying a slice with a fresh squeeze of lemon (or drizzle olive oil) on each slice. Now, where’s the ouzo? “Stin iyia mas!” (Greek for “to your health.”)

Grilled Greek Pizza

onedelightfullife.com
Get the patio party started like the Greeks do with this high flavor Grilled Greek Pizza. Don't forget the ouzo!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course grilled
Cuisine Greek

Ingredients
  

  • Naan flat bread
  • 1 c. diced grilled chicken
  • 1 diced tomato
  • 1/4 thinly sliced red onion
  • 4 oz. can black olives
  • 1/2 c. Tzatziki I used Sam's Choice Tzatziki Dressing
  • 1/4 sliced cucumbers
  • 1 T. feta cheese optional
  • pinch pepper
  • springs fresh dill
  • springs fresh parsley
  • 1/2 lemon optional

Instructions
 

  • Brush the Naan flat bread with olive oil.
  • Grill flat break for a few minutes until warm.
  • Remove Naan flat bread from the grill and drizzle with Tzatziki.
  • Layer your flat bread with veggies and diced grilled chicken.
  • Top with feta cheese, pinch pepper.
  • Drizzle again with a little Tzatziki.
  • Garnish with bits of fresh parley, dill, and a squeeze of lemon.

Notes

You can purchased already grilled chicken strips, but we just used leftover breast meat from the night before's dinner.

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