Monday Meals: BBQ Meatloaf

 

We've said  it before and we'll say it again: Doug in the Arkansas Test Kitchen is a Grilling Gladiator; he'll attempt to grill anything at any time. He spends every Sunday at his father's house; watching football and making game day food for them to enjoy. Last Sunday he had the idea of making meatloaf on the grill. That's right: barbequed meatloaf on the grill. Luckily the weather cooperated for this fantastic recipe.

While Doug recommends this meal be prepared on the grill, you can use the oven instead.

 


BBQ Meatloaf

1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 egg
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon BBQ rub
1 lb. bacon

1. Mix onion, green bell pepper, egg, ground beef, bread crumbs, BBQ sauce, BBQ rub together with your hands until well combined. Form into a loaf form.
2. Take your bacon and make a bacon weave. See below for directions on making the perfect weave:
     a. Place 6 slices of bacon vertical
     b. Fold slice 1, 3 , 5 in half
     c. place 1 slice of bacon horizontal
     d. fold down bacon slice 1, 3, 5 and fold slice 2, 4, 6, in half
     e. continue with instructions b - d until you have a complete bacon weave blanket.

3. Place the meatloaf in the middle of the bacon weave blanket and fold the sides up to cover the entire meatloaf.
4. Set grill up for indirect grilling.

5. Place a few pieces of wood on the fire
6. Once the grill starts smoking, place the meatloaf on the grill opposite the fire
7. Cook for 2 hours checking every 30 minutes on the wood.
8. Once the center of the meatloaf reaches 155 degrees, pull from the grill and cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes.
9. Cut and enjoy.
 

If you're dealing with cold weather right now and are not brave enough to cook, it can be cooked in the oven. Follow directions 1 - 3.
4. Place a cooling rack on a rimmed cookie sheet (this allows the grease to pool on the bottom of the cookie sheet and not collect on your meatloaf.
5. Heat oven to 350 degrees
6. Place the meatloaf in the bacon weave on the cooling rack and place in the oven
7. Cook for 2 hours or until the center of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees.

We hope you love this new twist on meatloaf as much as we did!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew