Smoked Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients

One of the wonderful things about meatloaf is that it’s a blank slate and can be adapted to any flavor profile that works with beef. Regardless of what flavors you choose, there are a few key components you’ll want to make sure are in your mix:

• Fat – make sure your meat has plenty of fat or your meatloaf will be dry and crumbly. We recommend 80/20 ground beef plus additional fat content using ground pork, sausage or bacon.   Store-prepared “meatloaf mix” will work too.
• Bread or bread crumbs – helps retain moisture and keeps your meatloaf from becoming a big hamburger
• Eggs – helps bind all the ingredients together

Beyond those core ingredients you can get creative, though the first time you should give this recipe a try without substitutions because it’s fantastic!

• 1.5 lb Ground beef (73/27) (80/20)
• 0.5 lb Mild Italian sausage
• 1 Medium onion, finely diced
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c Fresh chopped parsley
• 1 c Italian flavored panko bread crumbs
• 1 Large egg
• 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 tsp Fresh ground pepper
• Your favorite BBQ Sauce to coat at the end
• SnS Grills Not Just For Beef Rub OR here’s the homemade recipe I promised you

Grill Setup

We're going to be cooking at 325º-350ºF. To achieve this, simply fill the Slow ‘N Sear with half a chimney worth of unlit coals (approximately 40 coals), then top with the other half of the coals which or lit and ready, spread them out evenly then adjust your vents accordingly to lock in temperature. The water reservoir is installed in the Slow 'N Sear Deluxe, without water. 

Prep

Always be sure to wash your hands before prepping any food recipe. Place ground beef, Italian sausage, onion, parsley, egg, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, black pepper into large mixing bowl and mix well to combine with your hands. Make sure to mix this well as this is an important part of keeping the meatloaf together during the cook.

Place plastic wrap over a loaf pan (this will help to remove the meatloaf after shaping as shown in video) and gently start adding the meatloaf mixture into the pan and press down lightly to form the meatloaf. Continue this until you have filled the pan. Next, gently flip it over onto a wire rack as shown in video and remove plastic wrap. The wire rack will make transporting the meatloaf on and off the cooker quite easy. Place the meatloaf in the freezer for 30 minutes while you setup your cooker (instructions above)

Cook

Once the Slow ‘N Sear Kettle is up to temp and burning clean smoke, place the meatloaf on the indirect side with the wire rack. Place a meat temperature probe into the deepest, coolest part of the meatloaf center, place lid on the cooker and allow the meatloaf to cook until it reaches roughly 110ºF, then rotate it as shown in video. Allow it to continue to cook to 140ºF, then coat it with your favorite BBQ sauce as shown in the video, cover again and allow it to finish on the cooker up to 155ºF, then remove it from the cooker. Allow it to rest for a few minutes as it will continue cooking up to the final finish temperature of 160ºF.

Now SLICE, EAT, ENJOY!