BBQ Smoked Meatloaf

5 from 3 votes

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Make smoked meatloaf on a grill or smoker for a delicious meal while your kitchen stays cool! This recipe is SO easy- watch the video below.

close up of sliced BBQ Smoked Meatloaf


Sure you could make traditional meatloaf in the oven, but why? Smoking makes the meat perfectly tender and gives it an amazing smoky-sweet flavor. It’s perfect for outdoor gatherings, and you don’t need to heat up your kitchen.

What’s in a smoked meatloaf?

In addition to the basic meatloaf ingredients of ground beef, breadcrumbs, milk, egg, and seasonings, this recipe includes crispy bacon and sauteed onion. It’s that extra step of sauteing that elevates the flavor.

Rather than using all beef, this meatloaf recipe calls for a combination of ground beef and pork sausage. I use sweet pork sausage, but feel free to choose a hot one if you prefer.

prep photo to make BBQ Smoked Meatloaf

Video: How to Smoke Meatloaf

Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post and you can watch the video tutorial. Smoking meatloaf is simple, but the video will help you judge that for yourself.

What kind of wood chips or pellets are best for smoking meatloaf?

I prefer the sweet fruit woods for this like apple or cherry, but feel free to experiment and use whatever you prefer. Preheat your gas grill or smoker to 225°F. Add smoker chips per manufacturer’s instructions if using.

Grilling Instructions

If you have charcoal grill, set it up for using indirect heat:
For a gas grill, use a a 2-zone set up, which can be done in one of the following ways:

  1. Indirect Cooking– Heat half of the grill to achieve desired temperature, but place the meat on the opposite side.
  2. Side Cooking- Light both sides but leave the center flame OFF or at its lowest temperature.

Place meatloaf on the grill and cover. Cook/smoke for 2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 160°F. Baste with your favorite BBQ sauce 2 times during the final 30 minutes.

Using indirect heat on a charcoal grill or smoker

ignite the charcoal and place it to one side of the grill, creating a space for the food or the center with meat you’re cooking not directly over those lit coals. Typically use a drip pan under the meat to avoid any flareups, but the pan the meatloaf is on should do nicely.

BBQ Smoked Meatloaf on BBQ grill

The flavors from the chili powder and sautéed onion and bacon inside the meatloaf along with the savory BBQ sauce and smokey exterior are fantastic!

What to serve with smoked meatloaf

Slice up and serve it with more BBQ sauce, mashed potatoes or potato salad and watermelon salad for a great meal. Enjoy!

BBQ Smoked Meatloaf slice on wood cutting board

This post, originally published on Kevin is Cooking 6/12/2019, was updated on 8/6/2021 to improve the content.

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close up of BBQ Smoked Meatloaf

Smoked Meatloaf + Video

5 from 3 votes
Make smoked meatloaf on a grill or smoker for a delicious meal while your kitchen stays cool! This recipe is SO easy, with a video tutorial.
Servings: 8
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 2 hours
Resting TIme: 10 minutes
Total: 2 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • In a skillet sauté bacon over medium-high heat. After 2 minutes add the diced onion and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Remove from pan, set aside to cool and save the bacon fat for another use.
  • Preheat gas grill or smoker to 225°Add smoker chips per manufacturer’s instructions if using. Set up the grill for indirect grilling (See Note 1).
  • In a large mixing bowl add the ground beef, cooled bacon and onion mixture, pork sausage (casing removed), eggs, salt, chili powder, breadcrumbs and milk. Mix with hands to incorporate thoroughly. Dump onto a lined baking sheet and form into a large loaf in middle of pan with your hands.
  • Place meatloaf on grill and cover. Cook/smoke for 2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 160°F. Baste with your favorite BBQ sauce 2 times in last 30 minutes.
  • Remove from grill and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with more BBBQ sauce on side.

Video

Notes

  1. Grill using indirect heat: For gas grill do the 2 Zone set up which is either half the grill is lit to achieve desired temperature and the meat is placed on opposite side, or have sides lit leaving the center NOT on or lowest temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 492kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 146mg | Sodium: 995mg | Potassium: 479mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 3.4mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main
Cuisine: American, Southwest, Western
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!

Kevin

Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!

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14 Comments

  1. Trying this for the first time today. Meatloaf not a real go-to in the UK but we all love our meat and your recipes are great so giving it a go. We don’t have a smoker and it’s snowing outside so hoping it works in our fan oven.
    Thanks for sharing.

      1. 5 stars
        Well judging by the four clean plates I think it turned out pretty well. I did half recipe and that was just enough. I then only half a teaspoon of salt to compensate for the saltiness of the bacon. As I am coeliac I also used Gluten Free breadcrumbs and the mix held really well. Served with buttery mash it was a real treat.
        Thanks once again for sharing. 😊

      2. Excellent, so happy to read this. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know Simon!

  2. Never made a meatloaf myself. This will be the first one to hopefully impress the wife and kids with… ill let you know if I succeeded.

  3. Hi Kevin,

    I’ve made this before and it was amazing! Do you think you could turn up the heat to around 350 on a gas grill and cook it faster In a time crunch? Thanks!

    Julie

    1. I found the temp I cooked it at to be best but if you give it a try let me know! Just make sure it doesn’t over cook. 🙂

  4. 5 stars
    We’re big meatloaf lovers in this house and I’ve never considered making it on the grill. Genius! We’re pushing up into the 90s this week, so this needs to happen soon!