Smoked Meatloaf Recipe

If you’ve had a dry meatloaf before, and you probably have, I’m going to fix that in this blog. Meatloaf isn’t usually associated with outdoor cooking. Most meatloaf cookbooks are written for a loaf pan and an oven, not a smoker.

I grew up loving oven-baked meatloaf, but smoking it changes the whole dish. Ground meat is porous enough to take on real smoke flavor, and keeping it out of a pan means it doesn’t sit in its own grease.

This isn’t just a weeknight meal. I’ve served this at dinner parties and watched people give me a skeptical look at the word “meatloaf,” then go back for seconds.

What Type of Meat is Meatloaf?

Generally speaking, meatloaf is made of ground beef. That’s the most common anyway, but there are tons of variations. In this smoked meatloaf recipe, I use a combination of ground beef and ground pork.

That said, I’ve used other ground meats as well. Ground venison, for example, is excellent for meatloaf. But consider using ground veal, lamb, or turkey for something surprisingly moist.

What To Do With Leftover Meatloaf?

Most people would agree it doesn’t get much better than a meatloaf sandwich. I’ll give you a little tip though that will take your meatloaf sandwich to the next level. 

Try placing a nice thick slice of meatloaf directly on your grill over high heat. Grill both sides for 2-3 minutes and glaze with your favorite sauce.

Then, slap it on top of a nice slice of thick bread and top with some homemade garlic mashed potatoes and some French fried onions. The crunch and texture is absolute perfection on this open-faced sandwich.

How To Make Meatloaf Moist

By far, this is the most often asked question I get about meatloaf. For good reason, we’ve all had our share of less than stellar meatloaf that requires you to drink water like a camel to choke it down.

The secret to moist meatloaf is using day-old bread torn into small pieces and soaked in buttermilk. I promise, this is the secret for a super moist smoked meatloaf. 

One thing worth knowing before you start: cut or tear the bread into ½” pieces instead of 1″. Bigger chunks can leave dense, overly moist clumps in the finished loaf instead of blending in smoothly.

Want this same style of mixture in burger form instead of a loaf? I’ve got a dedicated Mac N Cheese Meatloaf Burgers recipe built around it, patties instead of a loaf, ready in a fraction of the time.

Smoked Meatloaf FAQs

How To Make Smoked Meatloaf 

Serves: 6-8 | Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 2½ hours 

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef (80/20)
1 lb ground Italian sausage or ground pork
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup diced yellow bell pepper
1 medium jalapeño seeded and veined, finely chopped (optional)
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
1 package dried onion soup mix
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
4-5 thick slices of Italian bread, torn into 1″ squares
¾ cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1½ cup barbecue sauce, divided equally

Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over high heat and sauté the onions, celery, peppers, and optional jalapeños. You just want the onion to get translucent and soften the peppers somewhat. Remove them from the heat and let them cool.

Step 2: Place bread chunks in a medium-sized mixing bowl and add buttermilk. Set aside, allowing the bread chunks to soak until the milk has absorbed.

Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, sausage, 3/4 cup of BBQ Sauce, cooled onion, celery and pepper mixture, Worcestershire sauce, soaked bread chunks, eggs, and soup mix. Mix ingredients together, then place in the refrigerator for one hour.

TIP: The hour in the refrigerator allows the mix to firm up a bit and makes it easier to form into a loaf. 

Step 4: Light your grill or smoker and set up for two-zone cooking, maintaining the temperature at 235°F. Place a wood chunk on the hot coals to establish steady clean smoke. 

Step 5: Remove the mixture from the refrigerator, divide in half equally, and place both halves on a sheet of parchment paper or tinfoil. Shape into loaves and transfer them to a wire rack for smoking. I usually shoot for loaves about 2” thick in a 4”x 6” shape. 

Step 6: Place the wire rack with loaves on the smoker and insert a reliable leave-in thermometer in one of the loaves. Close the lid and allow the loaves to cook until an internal temperature of 150°F.

Step 7: When the internal temperature reaches 150°F, glaze the top of the meatloaf with remaining BBQ sauce and crank the heat up in the cooker to 350 degrees. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes to allow the sauce to set up and get slightly tacky. 

Step 8: When the sauce is set, it’s time to pull the loaves off the cooker and let them rest for 5-10 minutes. Then slice and serve with garlic mashed potatoes or mac n cheese.