Meatloaf On The Big Green Egg

With summer in full swing, so has the grilling of smoking of fine meats and veg. Common choices are chicken, burgers, ribs and hot dogs. But what about a classic cold weather dish on the Big Green Egg?

I am talking about meatloaf. A simple but tasty dish that everyone loves.

For most, meatloaf is one of those winter meals that falls under the category of comfort food. Well we all can use some comfort in the summer as well right? Cold beer, good friends and a giant helping of smoked meatloaf that just melts in your mouth.

What I like most about making meatloaf whether it is for the oven or smoker, is that is it easy to make and once it is cooking, there is nothing to do.

Since I was going to be smoking it on the Big Green Egg, I made a much larger loaf than normal, but hey, I love leftovers, so it’s all good.

Here is my story of making meatloaf on the Big Green Egg.

Ingredients

• Ground beef. I had three small packages from the grocery store. Two were lean and one was medium.
• Foil baking pan. I only did this because my plate is in storage and I wanted indirect heat.
• Two eggs.
• Half and onion chopped as small as you prefer.
• Handful of bread crumbs.
• Four cloves of garlic.
• Fresh thyme and rosemary.
• 200 mls of BBQ sauce.
• 200 mls of ketchup.
• Smidge of olive oil.
• Whatever else you like to put in your meatloaf.

Preparation

1. Throw everything in a bowl and mix it up into a loaf. If you wear rings, please take them off first.
2. Grab the big clump of meat and throw it into your pan.
3. Shape it into a loaf and you are ready.
4. I put some BBQ sauce on top just for show but you can add that later if you want.
5. Let it sit for a bit while you get your Big Green Egg or BBQ going.
6. I put the loaf on a small metal wrack inside the pan so it would not sit in the fat and the water I added. I also tossed in extra onion, herbs and sauce in the water. Why? It looked cool.
7. I smoked the meatloaf at 250 F for three hours. But if you are in a hurry, raise the temp a bit and shorten the time.
8. Every hour or so, bathe the loaf in BBQ sauce with a brush.
9. I did not use any wood chips this time as it was a spur of the moment cook, but I did throw in random pine cones from the yard and sprinkled some water in now and then.
10. After three hours, take it out and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
11. Slice and serve. We had it with carrots and rice if you are curious.

The results of my first time trying meatloaf on the Big Green Egg were just like all my other firsts – sooo good.

I am a huge fan of meatloaf and this loaf was cooked to perfection. It held together when sliced, it had a  tasty crust on it and it was just moist enough that it melted in your mouth.

What will I try to improve on next time? Maybe more BBQ flavour inside the meat instead of just on the outside. But really, that is being pretty critical.

Meatloaf does not have to be a winter dish. This meal hit the spot on a warm summer day and the reactions I got on Instagram only showed that others felt the same way.

Have you tried meatloaf on the BBQ, grill or smoker? Would love to hear how it went.