It’s really popular to do a Whole30 in January (read about our first Whole30 January here). And it would seem (based on page view stats) that a lot of people got electric smokers for Christmas. And fortunately for those of you who are trying to eat healthy AND want to play with your new Christmas toy, those two lifestyles are compatible. We have actually spent a lot time developing Whole30 Electric Smoker recipes and we have brought them all together in one post.
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Keeping Whole30 with your Electric Smoker
Smoking meat has long been a way to preserve meat–very Paleo. But with the popularity and ease of electric smokers, people have begun preparing meat with an electric smoker that is smoky in flavor, but juicy and delicious. Which I suspect is way different than the meat that Pa Ingalls was preserving in Little House in the Big Woods (haha!).
We smoke all of our food in a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker. Specific directions for each recipe can be found through the links.
One thing that I became aware of very early in our electric smoker journey is that lots of commercially produced rubs and sauces have sugar in them which is a no-no on Whole30. But, it is easy enough to use your smoker and avoid the sugar (and other non-Whole30 compliant ingredients).
We have developed a number of rubs and sauces that do not include sugar. We also have a couple of recipes for brine and recipes for snacks that help you stick to your Whole30 goals. Oh and don’t forget all of those smoked meat recipes!
Whole30 Electric Smoker Rubs, Sauces and Brines
Whole30 Rubs
Our rubs tend to be a little on the mild side. Our kids don’t much care for anything spicy. If your would like to spice it up a little, add more black pepper or some cayenne to taste.
Semiconservative Granola Girl Dry Rub is heavy on onion and garlic and blended with kosher salt and a few other spices to bring out the natural flavors in our meat.
Everything but the Bagel Rub brings in some seeds to balance out the garlic and onion. You can buy Everything Seasoning or make ours which is a little different than most because it includes our secret ingredient: mustard seeds. (How secret can it be? I have a blog post about it!)
Orange Garlic Rub is perfect for seafood and poultry. It’s a blend of dried orange peel and garlic that is mild enough to enhance the flavors of salmon and chicken.
Fajita Rub is a blend of chili powder, garlic, onion and cumin. I love cumin so all of my pseudo-Mexican Recipes include it. Again, this is a pretty mild rub because kiddos. There are directions for adding heat.
We also use Montreal Steak Seasoning and Weber Roasted Garlic rubs.
Whole30 Sauce
Dill Pickle Barbecue Sauce which I sometimes call Dill Pickle Everything Sauce because to only use this as a barbecue sauce is to not do it justice. It is a perfect salad dressing too. It is a mayo based sauce with dill pickles and dill pickle brine to bring out the best in all the dilly goodness. Be sure to use compliant mayo and pickles. We use our homemade pickles.
Whole30 Brines
Brining chicken with the leftover juices from a jar of pickles makes for the perfect smoked chicken. However, sometimes, you might crave a little dill pickle chicken and still need those juices for the pickles. So try this recipe. It does require a little planning because you will need to make the brine 5 or 6 hours before you need to brine your meat. Don’t feel like smoked dill pickle chicken? Check out my most popular recipe Dill Pickle Crock Pot Chicken.
Apple Cider Brine brings in a natural sweet from both the cider and the apple chunks. We use this to smoke turkey. It could also be used for chicken and pork.
Whole30 Electric Smoker Snacks
Did anyone say smoked nuts? I know that nuts should be limited on Whole30 and perhaps you will want to avoid these recipes because the can totally become a “food with no brakes.” Try using portion control with little 2 oz cups from Sistema. I use these little cups to give Sunshine pumpkin seeds as one of her lunch treats.
Seasoned Smoked Almonds are easy to add as a secondary smoke when you are smoking dinner. Seasoned with Montreal Steak seasoning makes them salty, peppery and smoky. Yum.
Everything Smoked Cashews. Melt some ghee and add your favorite Everything Seasoning. Ours is of course homemade.
Smoked Buffalo Almonds like Buffalo wings but different. Make your own sauce with Frank’s Red Hot and ghee.
Whole30 Electric Smoker Meats
Of course, a post about using your electric smoking to create delicious Whole30 meals must include recipes for Whole30 Smoked Meat. Not all of our electric smoker meat recipes are Whole30 compliant, but most of them are. Here are just a few highlights of our more popular recipes.
Dill Pickle Smoked Chicken Thighs are bone-in, skin on chicken thighs brined in Dill Pickle Brine or leftover dill pickle “juice” that are then smoked to perfection. Top with Dill Pickle Barbecue Sauce.
Smoked Tri Tip may be my very favorite smoker recipe. We generously coat it in Everything Dry Rub or Semiconservative Granola Girl Rub.
Smoked Venison Chops are perfect for using your electric smoker on a weeknight. Depending on the size of the chops, they can be done in under 45 minutes.
Smoked Pork Butt is my favorite way to make pork in the electric smoker. This is not to make pulled pork. Instead slice it up and serve it with potatoes and veggies.
More Whole30
If you are still craving more Whole30 Electric Smoker ideas, visit our Whole30 Page or our Electric Smoker Page. Both have tips and tricks and links to even more recipes.
