Best-Smoked Meatloaf Recipes

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

With the best-smoked meatloaf recipes, you have a simple dinner plan to cook the most delicious gourmet meals in a short time on your pellet grill.

You can get started right away with the first recipe which is as good as it is simple to make.

BBQ Smoked Meatloaf

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of Plowboys BBQ Bean Buddy
  • 2 pounds ground beef sausage
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • ½ cup grated parmesan
  • ½ cup minced onions
  • Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold Rub
  • ½ cup fresh diced mozzarella

Instructions for the meatloaf

Preheat your pellet grill to a temperature of 250 0F.

Put the following ingredients in a bowl: panko bread crumbs, Plowboys BBQ Bean Buddy, cheeses, onions, and egg. Mix all of these ingredients thoroughly by hand.

Pour the mixture on a clean surface. Shape it into a meatloaf. Season it with plenty of Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold Rub.

Place the meatloaf on the second shelf of the pellet grill. Smoke it for around 45 minutes. You can also follow the internal temperature so that it reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once you are past the 45-minute mark, or when the internal temperature reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit, you should set the grill to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Use the remaining Plowboys BBQ Bean Buddy to glaze your meatloaf.

Keep grilling till the internal temperature touches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. When the meatloaf reaches this temperature, remove it from the pellet grill. Cut into thin slices to serve.

This is a tried and tested smoked meatloaf recipe that is sure to delight any guest privileged enough to devour this delicious meal.

You can fast forward to the next smoked meatloaf recipe provided below. But you will certainly not want to miss out on the intriguing history of the BBQ rub. For it is as delicious as the meal itself. You will get an idea of the true worth of the rub that you are applying to your meatloaf.

Background into the Plowboys BBQ Bovine Bold Rub

As with almost every good recipe, the secret lies in the sauce. For most great BBQs and smoked dishes, the flavor boost comes from the rub. It is most certainly true in the case of this well-loved smoked meatloaf recipe.

This secret BBQ rub was crafted by a team of BBQ pros that has the distinction of winning the 2009 American Royal Invitational. Todd Johns teamed up with his brother-in-law Randy Hinck to form the Pork Pulling Plowboys. The two captured one of the biggest prizes in competitive BBQ by edging past 123 rivals all of whom were champions.    

Plowboys Bovine Bold is the competition-grade BBQ rub that spurred the champions to victory. BBQ pros have used this sauce to earn the first position and numerous top-five finishes in BBQ competitions since then.

What’s so good about this rub is that it is very versatile. You can use it on all kinds of smoked BBQs- be it veal, poultry, pork, or any other meat. This rub won’t let you down. It will give you the depth of flavor and richness that you need not just to impress guests but to start winning in the competitive BBQ circuit. You will be so delighted that it will become the prime seasoning of choice. And that’s not a far off proposition since BBQ judges considered it good enough to be number one.

It took no less than 14 months for our team of heroes to perfect this rub. An even more interesting facet of the story is that they did not realize that this all-round rub is great for a wide range of BBQ items besides just brisket for which they originally designed the formula.  

It will do perfectly well with Sheppard’s Pie, tacos and meatloaf in particular.

Italian Sausage-Style Smoked Meatloaf

Ingredients

  • Rotini pasta
  • 1 cup marinara sauce
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 pounds Italian sausage
  • 8 ounces of bacon or prosciutto
  • 3 ounces cubed mozzarella cheese
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 large chopped onion
  • 2 large-sized green and red bell peppers (chopped with the seeds and stems removed)

Instructions

Prepare the Marinara sauce in advance so that it is ready for this smoked meatloaf recipe.

Use a two-zone fire set up for smoking this recipe on your pellet grill. Details are provided below. You will need the Camp Chef Sear Box for direct heating.

If the sausage is in link form, you should split the casings with a sharp knife. Cut all casings across their entire length, peel them off and discard them.  

Now collect all the sausage meat together and roll up the entire mixture into one mass.

Cut out a rectangular area of aluminum foil that measures 12 inches by 16 inches. This will serve as your working surface for processing the sausages.

Place the mass of sausages on this foil. Spread the sausage mass across the foil so that only a one-inch-wide border remains uncovered along 3 sides of the foil. The depth of the sausage mass should be about half an inch thick.  

Place pepper, salt, oregano, onion, and peppers in a bowl and mix them all well. This is the stuffing for the sausage. Spread the stuffing on the sausage mass so that only an inch wide perimeter remains uncovered along its surface.

Now spread the cheese along the surface of this stuffing. Just make sure that you don’t use too much cheese.  

It’s time to make the meatloaf from this. Lift one side of the foil and fold it over carefully to create a meatloaf. You will now have the sausage layer covering the stuffing at all sides. Squeeze the foil at the top around its edge so that the upper and lower edges of the sausage layer are joined as one.

You can now pull back the foil from the top to expose the upper layer of the meatloaf. Form the meatloaf properly so that it is now in the shape of a cylinder.   

Lay bacon strips over the meatloaf. Tuck in any part of the bacon strips under the meatloaf that is left hanging outside.

Now place the meatloaf along with the aluminum foil into the pellet grill. The temperature of the pellet grill should be 350 degrees Fahrenheit at this point. You will be looking to smoke the meatloaf for up to an hour. The best thing to do is to follow the temperature at the core of the meatloaf. When the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, the meatloaf is ready to be taken out. The bacon should be well-cooked as well at this point.

During the meatloaf smoking process, set your frying pan to medium-high heat. Add olive oil and then toss in the onions and chopped bell peppers. Fry them lightly until they are soft.

You should also keep the marinara sauce at low heat so that it is warm by the time you are ready to serve the meal.

While you are smoking the meatloaf, you can prepare the pasta. Boil up to a quart of water in a 2-quart vessel. Add in the salt followed by pasta. Follow the cooking instructions mentioned on the pasta box. Drain the pasta when the meatloaf is done. Put the pasta on the plates and apply a topping of marinara sauce. This should be followed by sautéed onions and bell peppers.

Slice the meatloaf neatly and place one slice each on the plates. Finally, the dish is ready to be served to waiting guests.

This may look like a rather long procedure, but in actuality, it is much shorter than most smoking processes. While other smoked recipes like briskets can take up to 12 hours, this recipe will take you just an hour and a half.

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4lbs ripe tomatoes
  • 1 small onion
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 celery stalks with leaves removed
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1½ teaspoons of Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Method

If you are doing this on a pellet grill, you will then need the Camp Chef Sear Box for direct heating. This highly rated sear box is the perfect solution for direct heating on a pellet grill.

If you want to use fresh herbs, then you should double the quantity since they have higher water content.

You can also add a little chili flavor to fire up the sauce for more heat. When all ingredients are in the pan, then you can throw in a pinch of chipotle powder or red pepper flakes. It is also worthwhile to include a teaspoon of pesto if you have any.

Fire up the grill to medium heat. When the temperature stabilizes, clean the grates. Remember that clean grates are crucial for the success of this recipe.

Slice the tomatoes and onions. Slicing should be crosswise for both. Mince the garlic and peel the carrot.

Apply an olive oil layer to the sides of tomatoes that you have cut open.

First, you will have to cook tomatoes using direct heat. Place them on the grilling grates of the sear box. The sides cut open should touch the grilling grates. Keep them in this position for 5 to 10 minutes. The lid of the sear box should remain shut during this process. They will develop dark grill marks within a few minutes.

Open the lid and roll them over so that the uncut sides are now touching the grilling grates. Repeat the same procedure with the lid down until dark grill marks develop on the skin. Even if you char the skin, there is nothing to worry about. You will remove the skin when the tomatoes are ready.  

Soon the tomatoes will have dark grill marks on both sides. You can now remove them from the grilling grates of the sear box. Allow the tomatoes to cool down until you can handle them comfortably. During this cooling process, you can put the celery, carrots, and onions on the grilling grates and keep rolling them around so that they have dark grill marks on all sides.

By this time, the tomatoes should be cool enough. You can now peel off the skin with ease.

Now, wait for the remaining veggies to cool down. When they are cool enough, you can chop them up fine.

Place a large frying pan over medium heat. Pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Excepting the tomatoes, throw in all the veggies for sautéing. About 10 minutes of light frying should be enough to bring out a delicious flavor in the vegetables. Remember to keep stirring. Otherwise, they might stick to the frying pan surface.  

After 10 minutes, you can introduce the tomatoes into the frying pan. Turn down the heat to a medium-low setting. The upcoming simmering process will last for an hour. If you find that the vegetable blend is too thick, add in some water for a thinner broth.

If you find that the seasonings taste too acidic then you can balance the flavor by including a teaspoon or two of sugar. Once the taste is set, you are ready to serve deliciously fried and fire-roasted veggies.

If you feel that the veggies look a little lumpy, then you can blend them to a thick liquid consistency.   

This sauce is good for all kinds of recipes including pizza and pasta.

Final Thoughts

The second smoked meatloaf recipe is a variation of the amazing Italian sausage recipe that Super Bowl fans live for. Once you taste this meal with your buddies during the big game you won’t know what you enjoyed more: the game itself or the Italian sausage meatloaf.   

The first recipe is very simple to make and is yet so delicious.

Smoked meatloaves are an easy way out if you want to prepare competition-grade meals that take little time to cook on your pellet grill.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer for our visitors

Get your Wood Pellet Grill Free Guide

We will never send you spam. By signing up for this you agree with our privacy policy and to receive regular updates via email in regards to industry news and promotions