Smoked meatloaf is always good but this one uses milk soaked bread and soft cooked vegetables to give it a texture and moisture that takes it over the top.
Course Entree
Cuisine Hot Smoking
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 4 hourshours
Total Time 4 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Servings 5
Author Jeff Phillips
Ingredients
1lbground chuck80/20
1lbground breakfast sausagehot or regular
½cupbell pepperyellow, green, red mixed), diced
½cupyellow oniondiced (about 1 small onion)
½cupcelerydiced
2slicesloaf bread or a hamburger bun top and bottom
½cupbuttermilk
2large eggs
1cupJeff's barbecue sauce
3TBSJeff's original rub
Instructions
Take two slices of loaf bread or the top and bottom half of a bun and tear it into small pieces.
With the bread in a small bowl, pour ½ cup of buttermilk over the bread. The bread will soak up the buttermilk and this will be part of what makes the meatloaf so moist.
Once the milk is soaked in, crack a couple of large eggs onto the bread mixture. Stir gently to combine and set aside.
Dice bell peppers, onion and celery so that you end up with about ½ cup of each.
Put 2 TBS of olive oil into a skillet over medium heat.
Once the pan is hot enough, pour in the onions, peppers and celery and stir to mix with the oil.
Let them cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables start to get slightly soft.
Once the veggies are finished cooking, remove them from the pan and into a plate or bowl to cool.
Add ½ cup of Jeff's barbecue sauce and 3 TBS of Jeff's original rub to the sautéed vegetables. Stir to combine.
Place the 1 pound of ground chuck and 1 pound of ground sausage into a large mixing bowl.
Add the bread, buttermilk and egg mixture to the top of the meat.
Add the vegetable, sauce and rub mixture to the top of the meat as well.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the top of the mixture and gently combine the ingredients together gently.
Pour or scoop the mixture onto a cookie sheet, food grade butcher paper, etc. and form into a loaf with your hands.
You can also place the mixture into a loaf pan to form it and then dump it out onto the pan, rack or tray that you will use to cook it.
I recommend about 2 inches thick in the shape of a rectangle.
If using a rack, place a piece of wax paper under the meat so it will be easier to remove once done.
Set up your smoker for cooking at about 240°F (116°C) using indirect heat with hickory smoke or whatever smoking wood you have available.
If your smoker has a water pan, fill it up.
Once your smoker is maintaining the proper temperature, the cooking can commence. Place the meatloaf in the smoker.
Let the loaf cook for 3-4 hours or until it reaches about 155°F (68°C).
Brush the top and sides of the meatloaf with plenty of Jeff's barbecue sauce. Give it about 25-30 minutes to caramelize then remove from the smoker.
Tent some foil over the top and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.