Smoked Meatloaf Will Be The First Thing Gone At Your Next Cookout (Here’s My Recipe)

Meatloaf, some love it, some don’t. But we’ve all eaten meatloaf sometime in our lifetime. This simple but incredibly delicious smoked meatloaf cooked on an offset smoker will change how you view meatloaf forever. It’s slowly smoked in an offset smoker in a loaf pan, allowing the fat and liquid to drain off as it cooks, creating a mouthwatering, robust, intense, meaty flavor. Once you’ve had a bite of this outstanding smoked meatloaf, it will be hard to cook your meatloaf any other way!

WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS SMOKED MEATLOAF RECIPE

• Easy to find ingredients – you probably already have most of the ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry.

• Easy to assemble – your prepping time is minimal. Just mix, put in a loaf pan, and smoke.

• Your smoking job is uncomplicated – set the loaf pan on your grill grate and smoke away! No flipping or turning necessary.

• Did I mention that this is incredibly delicious – the best meatloaf you’ll ever put in your mouth!

INGREDIENTS FOR SMOKED MEATLOAF

For the meat:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• ½ pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• 1 cup grated carrot

For the filling:

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup BBQ sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp hot sauce

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING SMOKED MEATLOAF

1. Bring your offset smoker to temperature – you want to maintain a temperature of roughly 250 degrees throughout the smoking process.

2. Mix the meats – in a large bowl,mix the beef, pork, pork sausage, onion, and carrot with your hands. You want to mix enough so all the ingredients are well blended, but don’t over-mix, or your meatloaf will be too dense.

3. Mix the filling – in a medium bowl, mix the cheddar cheese, eggs, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce with a spoon.

4. Pour the filling into the meat bowl – and again, with your hands, mix all the meat and filling ingredients together until well blended. Again, be sure not to over-mix.

5. Add the breadcrumbs – using about a ¼ cup at a time, add the breadcrumbs and mix with the meat mixture. HINT: You’ll know when it’s mixed just right when you can pick up the entire meat mixture in your hands and form a giant, somewhat loosely held together “meatball” that keeps its shape.

5. Gather the smoking pans – one of each 12” x 8” x 2” aluminum pan, 10” x 8”wire rack, and8.5” x 4.5” x 2.75” aluminum loaf pan. With a small sharp knife, poke 8 holes in the bottom of the loaf pan to allow the fat and liquid to seep out while the meatloaf is smoking. This is a great tip!

6. Place the meatloaf into the loaf pan – with your hands, gently pack the meatloaf into the loaf pan, making sure all corners and sides are filled with the meatloaf. Place the wire rack into the aluminum pan and place the meatloaf pan onto the wire rack. Brush BBQ sauce on top of the meatloaf.

7. Place the meatloaf onto the smoker – and smoke the meatloaf at roughly 250 degrees for 3-4 hours or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf is 160 degrees.

8. Remove the meatloaf from the smoker – and with a pair of scissors, cut both loaf pan sides in the middle of the pan. Pull the sides apart, and with a spatula, remove the meatloaf to a cutting board. Slice and enjoy!

VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS FOR SMOKED MEATLOAF

Try other meat combinations – Basic meatloaf is made with ground beef. As you’ve seen in this recipe, we also added ground pork and pork sausage. Try other combinations as well, like ground chicken, ground turkey, ground venison, elk, or buffalo. And mix up the sausage, too. Try sweet or hot Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, linguica, or chorizo.  

Play around with other filling ingredients – This can be a ton of fun and will also add some variety to your smoked meatloaf. Try adding garlic, mushrooms, capers, ketchup, mustard, salsa, sweet pickle relish, olives, chili sauce, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, or horseradish. The list is endless and so much fun to experiment with.

Pro Offset Smoker Tip  #1 – Add a few drops of Liquid Smoke to your filling ingredients to add a more robust smokey flavor to your meatloaf. But be sure not to add too much, or it will overpower the rest of the flavors. Liquid Smoke is potent!

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MAKING SMOKED MEATLOAF

Brush on BBQ sauce – As you smoke your meatloaf, brush BBQ sauce over the top every thirty minutes or so. This will give the meatloaf a sweet finish and a shimmering, yummy glaze.

Place a drip pan in your offset smoker – The aluminumpan you purchased to catch the drippings from the meatloaf usually comes in more than one to a pack. Place another aluminum pan with about an inch of water on the ash rack or at the bottom of your offset smoker. The water helps to keep the offset smoker and, thus, your meats humid and catches any dripping liquid or grease that may fall to the bottom. This really helps for clean up!

Pro Offset Smoker Tip #2 – I call this Chef’s Choice: Place a few sausage links, or a thin steak, or a pork chop or two on the grill grate closest to the heat source, flip, and rotate a few times until done. Eat as a yummy snack while the meatloaf is smoking. You’re welcome!