Meatloaf

BuzzandRenegade

I am going to do meatloaf for the first time. Looking for recipes and techniques. Plan to cook Friday then serve for Saturday lunch. Thanks in advance!

gmac

I like to do a bacon weave and put the meatloaf inside that. 

I dont have a recipe per se. Just season the meat with salt and pepper, garlic powder, bit of oregano and paprika maybe. But what I do differently is form the meat into a square maybe an inch thick, sauté some onion, add bbq sauce and cubes cheese and lay that down the middle. Roll the meat into an onion stuffed log, wrap,with bacon and then Egg at 250 or so until done, hour and half or so depending on temp. You can crank the heat up later to finish off the bacon. 

Id have to look back through posts but I’ve posted one here before. 
Good luck 

RRP

Here's a favorite of ours...

Not Your Mother’s Meatloaf

The original recipe was gleaned from one made at a Texas Eggfest in 2004 though I have made several modifications to it over the years to our satisfaction. The most recent is the addition of anchovies! Ron Pratt, Dunlap, IL

Ingredients:

1 pound 80/20 ground chuck

½ pound ground pork

4 strips of bacon

4 anchovies 

1 T oil from the anchovies tin

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

½ cup Panko bread crumbs – Parmesan herb style

1 T Worcestershire

4 cloves diced garlic

1 raw egg

2 tea Gochujang

1 tea ground black pepper

½ tea kosher salt

½ tea Tabasco

¼ tea ground cumin

¼ cup beef stock

In large skillet slow fry 4 strips of bacon to semi-cooked, but still limp. Remove bacon and set aside. Add 1 T of the oil to the bacon grease and add anchovies, onion, green pepper and sauté all the while stirring and mashing the anchovies into a paste and thoroughly mixing.  As it simmers add the ground pepper, salt, cumin, garlic and continue cooking until veggies are softened. 

Meanwhile slice and dice the bacon strips into small pieces. Don’t worry if they are undercooked to your liking as they will finish cooking inside the meatloaf. Besides if the bacon is crisp to start with they will become hardened, unpleasant surprise nuggets inside the loaf!

Pour the skillet contents into a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix and mix well with your hands by squeezing repeatedly through your fingers. (HINT: wear disposable plastic gloves!) Then form your loaf. Trust me - with the bread crumbs and egg binder this will be a solid loaf when thoroughly mixed! Place the loaf on top of waxed paper which is sitting on a cutting board. That way you will be able to coat the ends, sides and one top with a favorite rub such as Dizzy Pig Cow Lick. You can then flip the loaf and coat the final side.

I use a wire meatloaf basket, which allows smoke to reach it on all sides, but you may want to use a small oven proof flat pan or even a “pizza pan” which has holes.

Set up your BGE to cook indirect by using the plate setter with legs up and grate on top. I also foil my PS to keep the grease from getting the PS too dirty. Shoot for a 330° dome temp and cook to an internal temp of 160°. Typically this will take about 90 minutes. BTW I prefer the taste of cherry wood chunks as that smoke seems to “honor” this loaf!

ENJOY!

Revised…again…7-16-18

blasting

Meatloaf is a fairly quick cook.  You could easily cook it sat morning before lunch if you wanted to.

My recipe changes.  But todays (I'm putting 4 on this morning): fresh ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, herbs from the garden, finely chopped celery, bacon, a splash of hot sauce, smoked garlic, Worcestershire, grated white cheese blend.  Usually I'll put in some ground pork like Ron, but today I'm gonna try some chorizo mixed in.

Refrigerate or par freeze before putting on the grate indirect.  I apply a glaze at about 120 IT.  Equal parts tomato paste, ketchup, and brown sugar.

Smoke Em If U Got Em

Our favorite meatloaf recipe is from Lea & Perrin's.  It's simple to throw together and the kids love it, so we continue to keep this in rotation.  The only change I make is to saute the onions first in a little olive oil, just enough to soften them up some.  Also, about half way into the cook, we spread ketchup on top of the loaf. 

http://www.leaperrins.com/Recipes/Lea amp Perrins Meatloaf

SciAggie

You are in for a treat. Meatloaf is magical on the egg. Any good meatloaf recipe works. Cook it Saturday morning - you have time. 

BuzzandRenegade

blasting said:

Meatloaf is a fairly quick cook.  You could easily cook it sat morning before lunch if you wanted to.

My recipe changes.  But todays (I'm putting 4 on this morning): fresh ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, herbs from the garden, finely chopped celery, bacon, a splash of hot sauce, smoked garlic, Worcestershire, grated white cheese blend.  Usually I'll put in some ground pork like Ron, but today I'm gonna try some chorizo mixed in.

Refrigerate or par freeze before putting on the grate indirect.  I apply a glaze at about 120 IT.  Equal parts tomato paste, ketchup, and brown sugar.

BuzzandRenegade

So... I am wondering about the refrigerating/par freeze prior to cooking. Is that to get somewhat of a crust on the outside? The chorizo sounds really good.

fishlessman

 

BuzzandRenegade said:

So... I am wondering about the refrigerating/par freeze prior to cooking. Is that to get somewhat of a crust on the outside? The chorizo sounds really good.

the quickly formed crust helps hold it together when cooking right on the grill

blasting

I think the cooling helps it hold together.  We shall see on the chorizo - can't hurt, right?

fishlessman

@BuzzandRenegade

just get your favorite recipe and go for it,  this is an easy cook.  im usually going for sandwiches so its 3/4 inch thick tops in a brownie pan or i cook the onions and peppers over dry heat fist to make a deli loaf. but pick a method and go, pan works so does a basket, just right on the grill.  i just make it up as i go

this one was rolled up and stuffed with cheese, pine nuts, raisins

Jcacavias

This is our favorite.  Comes out great on the egg.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/classic_meatloaf/

The only change we make is instead of straight ketchup for the topping, we use 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup ketchup and 1 tsp of yellow mustard

Scott805

I did @RRP recipe last week and got great reviews from friends.  I did substitute Hot Italian sausage in place of the ground pork.  I always take a bread pan and put saran wrap in it and form the meatloaf and place in the fridge for two (2) hours.  Works great!

mEGG_My_Day

I've had really good results with this old Alton Brown recipe.  Just substitute the oven with your BGE.  Personally, I go light on the smoke with this, but that is up to you.

Video:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hsimp=yhs-att_001&hspart=att&p=alton+brown+meat+loaf#id=1&vid=710e694919035100fc098100d5c5484a&action=click

Recipe:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-meat-loaf-recipe2-1955592

...and let's beat the French this weekend!!!

BuzzandRenegade

So do I put the meatloaf directly on the grate or a sheet pan or loaf pan? 

Carolina Q

BuzzandRenegade said:

So do I put the meatloaf directly on the grate or a sheet pan or loaf pan? 

I put mine on the grid...

ryantt

There there are a million and one meatloaf variations out there but I like to start with a 2lbs of 80/20 and add in about 3/4lb of bulk unseasoned sausage.  I use instant mashed potatoes as a binder not bread crumbs. We use 1egg and season with a mix of slat pepper onion garlic ancho and last but not least Worcestershire sauce.    

 We always bacon weave our meatloaf and cook low and slow 225/250 this gives the bacon time to render and for us to get a nice smoke flavor.  

Last but but not least we glaze it with ancho, hot honey and a little of my wife’s favorite bbq sauce.  That’s it nothing fancy comes out perfect each and every time.   

Make sure to use a drip drip pan under it, makes clean up much much easier.

This meatloaf is sitting on a pizza screen elevated in the pan.  

RRP

ryantt said:

I use instant mashed potatoes as a binder not bread crumbs.

Interesting idea of using the instant potato flakes as a binder! I will have to try that twist next meatloaf! Thanks! 

ryantt

@RRP you won’t need to use as much as you would with breadcrumbs I would say it’s about a 1/3ish. 

RRP

ryantt said:

@RRP you won’t need to use as much as you would with breadcrumbs I would say it’s about a 1/3ish. 

Thank you!

Dobie

ryantt said:

There there are a million and one meatloaf variations out there but I like to start with a 2lbs of 80/20 and add in about 3/4lb of bulk unseasoned sausage.  I use instant mashed potatoes as a binder not bread crumbs. We use 1egg and season with a mix of slat pepper onion garlic ancho and last but not least Worcestershire sauce.    

 We always bacon weave our meatloaf and cook low and slow 225/250 this gives the bacon time to render and for us to get a nice smoke flavor.  

Last but but not least we glaze it with ancho, hot honey and a little of my wife’s favorite bbq sauce.  That’s it nothing fancy comes out perfect each and every time.   

Make sure to use a drip drip pan under it, makes clean up much much easier.

This meatloaf is sitting on a pizza screen elevated in the pan.  

Spying the Mac and cheese on the second layer and the pans 

GATraveller

blasting

Almost done...  glazed since the pic - another half hour or so.

TEXASBGE2018

GATraveller said:

Finally someone posted it....

ryantt

@Dobie it’s a smoke staxx pan, one of the companies that sponcers Norah Grace.  They are made locally to us in Amish country.  They are cast aluminum and are seasoned like cast iron.   They are nice but kind of expensive.   

GATraveller

TEXASBGE2018 said:

GATraveller said:

Finally someone posted it....

Always happy to help. 

BuzzandRenegade

Thanks everyone! So many great recipes and techniques. Looking forward to picking the one I want to try. Or it will be a bastardized rendition of many.

BuzzandRenegade

@blasting....Those loaves could jump off the page! Wow!

BUFFALOMOOSE

Tyler Florence ultimate meatloaf with a tomato red peper relish. 

SaltySam

My only advice would be to go light smoke, or even no smoke.  Ground beef absorbs it easier than a roast or steak.  I think I tried a handful of hickory chips and it was pretty intense.  Start small and work up to your preference