Smoked Meatloaf: The Ultimate Comfort Food
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Smoked meatloaf is one of those things that affects people in a big way. Almost without fail, every time someone tries it they proclaim that they will never eat “oven meatloaf” again.
I love meatloaf of all kinds but I do agree that there is something really special about smoked meatloaf and it takes you by surprise the first time and every time you try it.
This one is seasoned with my original rub .
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Smoker Temp: 225-240°F
- Meat Finish Temp: 160°F
- Recommended Wood: Pecan, Hickory or Cherry
- 2 lbs of ground chuck (85/15)
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup Jeff's original rub
- 1 cup minced onions
- 1-½ cups Gruyere cheese, grated (I used smoked)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Jeff's barbecue sauce
As I have mentioned in the past when making meatloaf, one of the things to remember is that over mixing a meatloaf will make it tough so you have to find a way to get good dispersion of ingredients without mixing it too much.
For this reason, I decided to try gently pressing the meatloaf out onto a cookie sheet, adding the ingredients one by one onto the top and then rolling it up.
Here is the process that I used but you can add the ingredients in any order that you like or mix them all together first and then add it to the top of the meat.
2 lbs of 85/15 ground chuck.
The meat is gently pressed flat onto a 9 x 13 cookie sheet.
1 cup of bread crumbs.. I used Panko but you could crush saltines as well.
1/3 cup of Jeff's original rub is sprinkled evenly over the entire area for perfect flavor.
2 eggs are broken into a bowl and lightly whipped to combine the yolk and white. The egg is poured over the top of the meat.
I grated about a cup and a half of smoked Gruyere cheese and added it to the top hoping it would melt into the meat and help to make it more moist.
Add some minced onion.. about a cup (1 medium yellow onion).
Finish off the ensemble with a cup of buttermilk and it's ready to roll up.
Proceed to roll up the meatloaf. It doesn't matter if things fall by the wayside or if it's not pretty. This is simply to reduce working the meat too much and it will all come together perfectly in the next step.
Update: I have received several emails from readers complaining about the “rolling” process and saying that it did not work out so well for them. Maybe I'm the last of the great meatloaf rollers or maybe I just got lucky with my rolling but it worked fine for me. Having said that, If you seem to be having trouble right from the start, just put everything into a bowl and mix it together.. only enough to make sure that things are dispersed, no more than that.
Drop the rolled up meatloaf “dough” into a bowl or loaf pan and carefully press it out to fill the bowl. Place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes or even overnight if you want to.
I used a loaf shaped bowl.
Once I was almost ready to cook it, I coerced it out of the bowl on to a Weber grill pan.
The meatloaf ended up being about 2 inches thick.
While the meatloaf is getting cold in the fridge is a great time to get the smoker going.
Set up your smoker for cooking at about 225-240°F with indirect heat.
If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.
This meatloaf will take between 3-4 hours (depending on how thick it is) to reach 160°F so make sure you have enough smoking wood for at least 2 hours of smoke. If you want to add smoke longer, it won't hurt a thing.
I used pecan but other great woods for meatloaf are hickory (if you want something a little more robust) or even cherry which is a great all around smoking wood and really good with beef.
Once the smoker is preheated and ready to go, you can place the pan with the meatloaf into the smoker.
As I mentioned, I used a Weber grill pan and these are very handy but you can also use other types of pans as well but it's a great idea to have a way to drain the grease away from the meatloaf while it cooks.
I placed the Weber grill pan on top of a throw away foil pan while it cooked and this allowed the grease to drain away without dripping all into my smoker and creating a mess I'd have to clean up later.
You could also drill holes into a cookie sheet and place it over a disposable pan or you could use a cooling rack over the top of a pan.. just use some imagination and you'll come up with a great way to make it work best for you.
Let the meatloaf continue to cook in the smoker until it reaches about 150°F at which point you'll want to start thinking about brushing on a heavy layer of Jeff's barbecue sauce and giving it plenty of time to caramelize properly.
When the smoked meatloaf reaches 160°F it is perfectly finished and should be removed from the heat promptly.
Be sure to use a tried and true digital thermometer such as the Thermopop for testing the temperature of the meatloaf. This will allow you to scientifically get it done perfectly. This one reads in about 3-4 seconds and is one of my favorites!
Let it rest for 7-10 minutes before slicing into it to let the juices redistribute throughout the meat.
Slice into ½ to ¾ inch pieces and serve.
Smoked Meatloaf - The Ultimate Comfort Food
Ingredients
- 2 lbs of ground chuck (85/15)
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- ⅓ cup Jeff's original rub
- 1 cup minced onions
- 1-½ cups Gruyere cheese (grated (I used smoked)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Jeff's barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Lay the meat onto a cookie sheet and press it out flat.
- Evenly layer all of the ingredients except for the barbecue sauce on top of the meat.
- Roll the meat and ingredients up and press it gently into a loaf shape.
- Place the meatloaf "dough" into a loaf pan or a loaf shaped bowl and into the fridge for at least an hour or longer.
- Get the smoker ready by preheating it to 225-240°F using indirect heat.
- When the smoker is ready, remove the meatloaf from the bowl and onto a cooling rack or Weber grill pan.
- Place the rack on top of another pan so the grease can drain away and be caught by the pan. This prevents the meatloaf from sitting in grease and getting soggy.
- Use pecan, hickory or cherry wood for smoke and let the meatloaf cook for 3-4 hours or until it reaches 160 in the center as measured by a digital meat thermometer.
- Top the meatloaf with barbecue sauce about 30 minutes before it is finished cooking.
- Let the meatloaf rest for 7-10 minutes then slice into ½ to ¾ inch servings.
- Enjoy!
I lay out wax paper on the cookie sheet to “help” with the rolling process and to transfer it to my meatloaf pan. I use this recipe to make a Philly Special by sautéing up onions, peppers, mushrooms, and bits of steak to lay out and roll into the meatloaf…along with Swiss cheese. And I also wrap it in bacon as an added punch and to help hold it all together. Its a favorite at work as I need to make four at a time.
I would rather put Salsa on top and smoke it to perfection.
Hey Jeff been a follower of yours for sometime. I’ve tried most of your recipes and enjoyed them all. The rubs are spot on and the sauce is great. Here in Michigan I spend all the time I can in the woods or on the water. We eat a lot of venison (whitetail deer) rabbit squirrel and fish.. Tried the meatloaf recipe with venison on my Horizon smokers last weekend it was excellent. Thank you. So I say all that to ask this do you have any tips on smoking wild game.
I absolutely loved this recipe!!! My favorite restaurant used to sell smoked meatloaf, I loved it, but they unfortunately took if off the menu. So I did what any bbq junkie would do..I went out, bought an electric smoker and made my own. I tried other recipes. Not only does this recipe stand out above the others, but it also surpasses in flavor, texture and smokiness than the one I used to get at the restaurant. Thank u for sharing this recipe!!!!!
I love this recipe, but I took it even a step further, an bacon lattice wrapped my meatloaf for that extra “WHAM!”
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t9fz4bxqk88j9je/20170627_184711.jpg?dl=0
That’s how I roll….
This is the only way to make meatloaf. This is the only way my family will eat meatloaf.
First time I made this, my wife said that she that this was the best meat loaf that she has ever eaten. I agree–it’s the best!!
Want to rate five stars, but there seems to be some sort of computer glitch that prevents me from doing so.
I have made this 3 times and brought to Deer camp. The guys can’t get enough of it. I added bacon in the roll up.
Try this