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Smoked Stuffed Meatloaf is pure indulgence! The tender meat is jam packed with flavor, then stuffed with creamy mozzarella cheese, smoked on the grill, and finally finished with a spicy Sriracha ketchup.
This is the meatloaf of dreams. You can also check out our cookbook for another great meatloaf recipe.
Table of Contents
I was never a meatloaf fan growing up. No offense, mom, but you had other talents! Meatloaf was always too dry and bland for me. And the whole loaf idea just creeped me out.
Flash forward to these giant smoked meatballs, and everything changed. Our neighbor had created that recipe for his wife because meatloaf grossed her out, so he made meatballs instead (using the same flavors he’d want in a loaf). Smart thinking.
Ingredients + Substitutions
Portions are in the recipe card.
- Ground Beef – We recommend using 80/20 ground beef or 80% lean and 20% fat. You can use leaner beef, but if it’s too wet, then you need to add more panko.
- Ground Chorizo Sausage – This is the extra flavor profile that makes this really stand out. If you can’t find ground chorizo then use ground Italian sausage.
- Onion – We prefer a red onion for the flavor, but you can add any type of onion you like.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is a great pairing for the onion.
- Thyme – We prefer fresh thyme but you can substitute with dried thyme if that is all you have.
- Tomato Paste – Tomato paste adds flavor and helps bind the mixture that will incorporate with the ground meat.
- Worcestershire – Adds great acidity and umami (savory) flavor.
- Stock – Use chicken stock for a milder flavor, or beef stock if you want a little more beefy flavor.
- Egg – Helps bind together the beef and mixture.
- Panko – Panko adds texture and also absorbs some of the liquid. You can use gluten free as well in equal portions.
- Seasoning – Any dry rub works that adds flavor. We use our pork rub but you can use any of your favorites or explore our homemade rub recipes for more options.
- Cheese – A melty cheese is best like shredded mozzarella. Alternatively you can use gouda or cheddar, or mix it up.
Sriracha Glaze
- Sriracha – For added flavor and heat we like Sriracha.
- Ketchup – Use any ketchup, if it’s not as sweet you can add brown sugar. Or you can substitute with any BBQ Sauce.
What we’re doing with the smoker is slowly bringing the temperature of the meat up, giving it that sweet smoke infusion, and then finishing it with the sweet and spicy glaze at the end. Similar to how you’d cook it in your oven, but the smoker gives this BBQ stuffed meatloaf incredible flavor.
Make Meatloaf Filling
- Add olive oil to a pan over medium heat and soften onions and garlic first. About 8 minutes.
- Add chicken stock to the sauté mix, and tomato paste, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce, just to give it that added moisture while it cooks. Continue to stir to incorporate.
- In a large bowl, mix the beef, sausage, egg, breadcrumbs, dry rub, and the sauté mix. It’s best to mix with your hands to avoid overmixing.
Stuff Meatloaf
Separate the meat mixture in half and place it on a piece of parchment paper on a sheet tray and press it into the shape of a rectangle. In this case it was about 10″ long. Give it a sturdy base (close to 1″ if you can). Then place the cheese in the middle.
Next roll out the second half meat mixture as wide as the base and gently place it over the top, sealing the sides together, trying to avoid any holes or open areas for the cheese to seep out of.
Make sure the loaf is nice and sealed, and it’s now ready for the smoker.
Important Tip
You want to make sure that the top and bottom half of the meatloaf is pressed together well. Otherwise as it smokes, the cheese will seep out of the edges. This is why you want it to be thick.
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Make Glaze
In a medium size bowl combine the ketchup and sriracha. If you find it too spicy, then add more ketchup. No need to cook it down, it will firm up on the meatloaf while it smokes.
How to Smoke Meatloaf
I recommend you keep it on your parchment paper for this for ease of transferring. I take the extra step of keeping on a sheet pan while cooking (though this is optional).
- Smoke Meatloaf: Smoke your stuffed meatloaf at 250 degrees F using apple wood for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat is 150 degrees F.
- Glaze Meatloaf: Using a glazing brush, add your Sriracha ketchup mix.
- Continue Cooking: Cover the smoked stuffed meatloaf with the sauce and then close the lid and smoke for an additional 20-30 minutes (until the internal temperature of the meat is 165 degrees and that Sriracha ketchup has caramelized a little.
- Remove from heat, allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, just long enough to handle but you don’t want the cheese to harden up, then slice and dig in!
Serve warm!
If you like this recipe we’d truly appreciate it if you would give this recipe a star review! And if you share any of your pics on Instagram use the hashtag #vindulge. We LOVE to see it when you cook our recipes.
Smoked Stuffed Meatloaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground chorizo sausage
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 a medium onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon Ultimate Dry Rub
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (you can also use gouda or cheddar)
Sriracha Ketchup
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup Sriracha (can also sub BBQ sauce if you don’t like the spice)
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit using fruit wood like apple or cherry. Oak works great too.
- In a large bowl combine the beef and chorizo sausage and set aside.
- In a large skillet set to medium heat, add olive oil and onions and cook for 5-8 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and thyme and cook 1 additional minute. Remove from heat and add the tomato paste, Worcestershire, and chicken stock. Mix to combine.
- In the bowl with the meat mixture add the egg, breadcrumbs, dry rub, and onion/liquid mix. Mix, gently, using your hands, and separate into two equal parts.
- On a sheet pan covered with parchment paper add half the loaf and spread it into a rectangle shape about 1″ thick.
- Place the cheese in the center (see photos above), leaving about 1″ around all sides. Shape the other half of the meat mixture to the same size as the bottom layer, place it on top of the cheese, and seal all edges and sides.
- Place the loaf (on the sheet pan for ease) on the smoker and cook about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until internal temperature is 150 F.
- Cover the loaf with the Sriracha Ketchup mixture and cover the smoker lid, and continue cooking until the internal temperature of the meat is 165 F (this could take an additional 20-30 minutes).
- Remove and let rest 5-10 minutes. And dig in!
Sriracha Ketchup
- Mix ketchup and Sriracha in a small bowl and stir to incorporate.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We love meatloaf – always have! But this took it to a whole new level! Was absolutely perfect and very good. It was easy to bring together, too. Will definitely be making this again. Might try it with a smoked gouda or gruyere cheese next time. And, for anybody thinking chorizo would make it too greasy, it’s not! Give it a try!!
“….because meatloaf grossed her out…” Despite using these words “meatloaf” and “grossed her out” together in an introduction to a recipe, I’m still going to attempt to try this.
Because you know it will taste awesome. 🙂
Oh my goodness – all that melty cheese looks SO good! I love that you smoked the meatloaf too!!! I definitely want to give this one a try!
That shot of the mozzarella oozing out made me hungry for this right now! 10:30am seems perfectly acceptable to be eating meatloaf when it looks this good. Awesome recipe!