One of the things I have always loved eating was homemade meat loaf! I have always looked forward to a nice thick slice of meatloaf on bread with BBQ sauce and all the fixings! To make meatloaf go to the next level in taste texture, my family and I smoke our meatloaf with a mix of oak and sugar maple wood.

In this posting I will share with you my techniques and recipe that my family and I use as our standard in making killer meatloaf sandwiches like the one you see below!

What I have found that works real well is mixing a combination of lean ground beef and a good steak that is ground and mixed with the lean ground beef. Below is my favorite recipe for making smoked meat loaf

Bossman Meatloaf-  2 lbs of lean ground beef, 1-2lb Rib Eye Steak ground ( or steak of your choice), 5 strips of bacon crumbled, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce,1 small onion/ diced, 1 small bell pepper /diced, 1 ½ cup bread crumbs, 4 large eggs lightly beaten, 2 tsp Kosher Salt, 2 tsp granulated garlic.

Mix the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Place contents into disposable aluminum bread pans or a regular disposable aluminum pan; pierce the bottom of the pan in several places such as the corners to allow the grease to escape during cooking.

Pack the meatloaf into the disposable pan, packing the meatloaf into the pan tightly paying attention to the corners of the pan. Prepare the smoker for indirect smoking with a 50/50 mix of Oak and Sugar Maple or your favorite wood, reaching a temperature of 250-275. Place the meatloaf directly on the smoker grate and allow smoking for 1 hour. Check for firmness, if needed allow cooking longer until firming begins. Once the loaf begins to firm and pull away from the corners and edge of the pan, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the disposable pan, covering the top of the pan. This next step can be tricky, turn the pan over with the aluminum foil allowing the foil to be on the bottom grate and remove the pan exposing the meatloaf on the aluminum sheet. Smoke for another hour checking for an internal temperature of 155. Once the internal of 155 is reached, remove the loaf from the smoker placing it back into the disposable pan using the same method as before. Glaze the loaf with barbeque sauce if desired and tent with aluminum foil allowing the loaf to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve on sandwiches or a main dish.

I know your going to find the taste and smell of this meatloaf to be INCREDIABLE!! Don’t be afraid to add to or try new things in making your meatloaf your personal recipe. With the warm weather coming and most of us smoking more then we usually do, don’t forget the meatloaf and the incredible meal it can be!!