Recipes for the He Penguin - Meat Roll

Ingredients -

2 lbs. ground beef (I use 80/20. You could use another type of ground meat, just keep in mind that you may have to adjust other ingredients due to moisture level.) 
1 egg (It is always a half an egg per lb. of ground beef.)
2 tbsp. BBQ sauce
(For this one, I used the large pieces of dried onions dad made. They soak up flavor and add a great flavor. You can mince up some raw onion to add to your meat mixture.)
Seasoning salt and pepper to taste. (You can also add in garlic powder or any other powdered spice you want.)

Any deli meats (Try to keep it to 1 or 2, more is not better.)
Cheese (Sliced cheese is easier to use, but shredded or crumbled works well too. Again, try to keep it to 1 or 2, more is not better.)

In order to have a little help with the mixing of these ingredients, take the meat out of the fridge a little earlier. Your fingers are going to be the best tool for mixing. Just remember that you don't want to over squish or over mix. Let it all come together, but don't kill it. 


Once things are brought together, let the mix set to allow all the flavors to meld. You can lay some plastic wrap over the top (down on the meat) and put it in the fridge. Just make sure you pull it out and bring it up to temp a little to make it easier to work with.

Make sure you have plenty of open space. You are going to want to lay out a piece of wax paper or foil. Don't try to short yourself; it is better to have a bigger piece than you really need.


Using your fingers and the heel of your hand, spread out the meat mixture in a rectangle. Make sure that there are no gaps and that the meat is not so loose that it falls apart. Likewise, while the goal is to make a thinner layer of meat to roll, if you go too thin, there will be blow-outs when cooking. 

Lay out the deli meat. Make sure that each piece overlaps each other, leaving a border of ground meat mixture all the way around. If you choose to use things like bacon (which should be precooked) or pepperoni, try to always use an additional meat that it a larger deli meat (for example: honey ham, pastrami, even a larger salami). By doing so, you are helping ensure that your cheese does not ooze out through any breaks in the ground beef mixture.

Sprinkle or lay down the cheese. For the best results, leave an additional border of sliced meat around the edge. Again, you don't want the melted cheese to just run out everywhere.


As a side note: At this point, you could actually layer in things like caramelized onions, hot or mild peppers, roasted garlic, etc. Just remember, a little bit goes a long way; more is not better.

At this point, you are going to want to grab a 9x13 pan and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.



Grabbing the one end, flip up one end. Slowly roll up the entire length of the pressed out mixture. Pull away the wax paper or foil as you roll. Be careful not to overly squish the roll. Doing so can result in your sliced meat and cheese pushing out the end.

To quote my favorite Food Network chef, Alton Brown, "take your time, your patience will be rewarded." 

After rolling the entire mixture, carefully lay it seam-side down in the pan. Gently seal the ends. Inspect the entire loaf. If you can see any fillings, or even any spot you think might be a little thin, take a small piece of the meat mixture from the ends to press and close the hole. If your oven is not up to temp, pop the whole thing back into the fridge. Putting it into the oven prior to coming up to temp, the ground meat may not set properly.

At this point, it can be noted that julienned peppers can be laid over the top. It cooks very nicely and adds a bit of extra flavor.


Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour.


Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes for all the juices to redistribute.


Using a serrated knife, cut into slices. Slices are easier to eat. It is recommended that you only cut what you are going to eat each time.