Meatloaf

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Finnaly hit 165* at 6:35!  Spent 35 minutes at the "stall".  Actually had a temp drop in the cooker - don't know what happened.  Meat loaf came out good but as the better half said - "probably not worth the extra time vs the oven"
 
HUMMMM I have never had a meat loaf stall before. I like the smoked meat loaf better then oven, but then again I like most any thing smoked better.......LOL
 
Even if she likes it better out of the oven, it's a lot more fun sitting around the smoker smelling the smoke & drinking a few beers, than it is sitting in the kitchen waiting for the meatloaf to get done!
 
Yeah, it was in the 50s here yesterday and spent a lot of the wait on the deck w/ a Sam Adams Mighty Oak Ale.  I was cooking at 250*, but wonder if my drip pan might have covered too much area, but then the prob was above the pan.  And why the temp variation, most of the smoke it held at 250 +/- . My MES normally holds temp well.  Used a Maveric 732 so can't blame the stock guage.
 
On my last meat loaf I made the mistake of cooking three instead of just one.  We ate the one and loved it.  We'll eat the other two and love them, but they will be reheated and not fresh out of the smoker.  The fun is in the smoking.  My thoughts about that?  Invite more people over next time.

Today my family insisted I clear out the freezer since I had so much stuff stored there, nothing new would fit in.  Oh, the pain . . . remembering the bits and details of each success and failure.  We feasted on pulled pork, ribs, chicken wings, beer can chicken, and some mystery meats from long ago (tough as nails so we cut it thin and gave it to the dawgs).

Each success is a failure until you serve it all.  Reheated won't even get you an attaboy.
 
Meat loaf sounds great but

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Joe
 
I totally sympathize with you I recently had to do the freezer cleaning thing.  Painful!!  One good thing you won't have to cook/smoke for a week or two.  Cleaned out the freezer when my eclair I put in there turned up missing in action.  Cleaned out freezer found eclair.  YUMMMMM!!!!
 
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Nope, that's the bad thing.  I'm always looking for a reason to fire up the smoker and if I don't do it three or four times a week, I don't feel like I'm cooking often enough.

I found an old chuck roast and enough saved fat in the freezer to do a chuckie.  It's about one hour on the smoker now and all is looking good.  The fun of smoking starts with the adventure at the meat counter, so to freeze and reheat leftovers takes away from that pleasure.  I'm just going to need to learn to buy in smaller portions so I can make my smoker hot more often.
I totally sympathize with you I recently had to do the freezer cleaning thing.  Painful!!  One good thing you won't have to cook/smoke for a week or two.  Cleaned out the freezer when my eclair I put in there turned up missing in action.  Cleaned out freezer found eclair.  YUMMMMM!!!!
 
I haven't done a meatloaf (or elk loaf since that is what I'll be using) yet on the smoker, but hubby wants one this weekend. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can do it on the smoker! I have an MES 40 and can't imagine a meatloaf taking that long. How big was it?
 
It's not done until it's done, but you can speed up the cooking by foiling after a couple good hours of smoke or just when it starts to stall.  The heat of the steam inside the foil will help in the cooking and prevent a major stall in temperature.   Meatloaf doesn't require a heavy smoke.   Unwrap it the last half hour so to finish.

I never have tried elk loaf.  Is it anything like moose loaf?  Moose meat is some of the sweetest tasting red meats out there.  I guess that's why we don't have moose in NC.  I love it more than deer or bear, which is usually all I can find locally.  Most the other critters have a game flavor I just can't get into.  I tried possum stew once.  Never again.

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I haven't done a meatloaf (or elk loaf since that is what I'll be using) yet on the smoker, but hubby wants one this weekend. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can do it on the smoker! I have an MES 40 and can't imagine a meatloaf taking that long. How big was it?
 
I read something that said the stall has nothing to do with collagen/gelatin convertion but has to do with moisture in the meat "sweating" and actually cooling it down until the moisture is evaporated, then it continues the temp climb.  If that's the case, I guess meatloaf could stall.  I have yet to smoke one but it is on the to-do list. ...soon!
 
Probably should be on a different thread but don't get me started on moose meat.  Canadian friend gave us some and we couldn't believe how good it was!
 
I never had a meatloaf stall?

I do like a smoked meatloaf but sometimes I like it out of the oven, too?

I don't like meatloaves that are cooked in a pan or wrapped up tight.  I like to bind mine up a little more and cook them free form.

Good luck and good smoking.
 
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