Could I ask your best meatloaf recipe for a friend ??

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Rafter H BBQ

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Hey all, I know the thread title sounds a bit weird... I'll explain, we have a family friend that has been thru numerous health problems the last few years as well as losing his daughter a couple months ago... Well, we got the word a few days ago that he will be leaving us as well... He has a terminal diagnosis... So, he asked my wife & myself to please prepare basically his final meal which we were both honored, humbled & a bit sad as he will likely be gone very soon ! He loves meatloaf, cucumber or potato salad & has requested that, so I'm reaching out to y'all for your best recipes... I'd sure appreciate it as I've not smoked many meatloaves before & really need this to be great ! Thanks in advance !
 
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What an honor.  And thank you for something so compassionate. 

My wife has a sweet and tangy cucumber & onion salad that is fantastic but it is in her head.  I'll see if she can make it this week so I can write it down. 

All the recipes I have for meatloaf are adapted from ones I've found online or in cookbooks.  I hope someone steps up and adds their family favorite.  The one's below all smoke up nicely and have a wide variety of flavor profiles.  We tend to like ones that we can use Ketchup on, not gravy, but I'll skip the toppings at times and make a beef gravy on the ones that don't have the Italian or Cajun seasonings.  Hard to pick a favorite because I like them all, including a copycat recipe of Claim Jumper's meatloaf. 

Here are four of my recipes.  This first two are pretty straight forward.  The last two are different but delicious. 

Ray's Meatloaf

I was inspired by the recipe in the link, but adapted it to my own tastes.

Ingredients
1 Tbs butter
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 heaping tsp of chopped garlic in the jar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 cups Herb-seasoned stuffing mix crushed
7 buttery round crackers, crushed
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 1/2 Tbs sour cream
1 1/2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, divided
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tsp basil, dried
1 tsp oregano leaves, crushed
1 Tbs sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven (smoker) to 350 degrees F.

2. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion and garlic 5 minutes, until onion is tender. Remove from heat, and season with the salt and pepper.

3. Put the stuffing and the crackers in a bowl and crush to break up large pieces, or pulse in a food processor for the same result.

4. In a large bowl, mix the onion and garlic, beef, crumbled bread, crushed crackers, egg, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 can tomato sauce. Mix with hands until mixture is combined.  The meat should be moist but not soggy. Transfer the mixture to a 5x9 inch loaf pan, or an 8x12 cake pan (Costco sells fresh-made salads, burritos, enchiladas, etc in nice aluminum 8x12 cake pans.  We save them and use them for meatloaf!).

5. Topping follows:  If smoking, do not add the topping until the meatloaf has been in the smoker for 30 minutes.  If making in the oven, you can add the topping right away.

6. Combined the remaining tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and sugar in a bowl then spread over the top of the meatloaf.

7. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 60 minutes. Check for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.  Add additional baking time to reach the desired temperature.

Source
Author: sillyliltracy
Web Page: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-meatloaf-ive-ever-made/

Claim Jumper Copycat Meatloaf

Ingredients
2 tsp vegetable oil
⅔ cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup red bell pepper, minced
1 carrot, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 cup breadcrumbs (Italian seasoned)
½ cup flour
½ cup ketchup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven (or smoker) to 350 degrees.

2. Saute onion, garlic, red pepper and carrot in oil over medium heat until they become soft. In a medium-sized bowl combine eggs with milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. In a separate, large bowl, mix breadcrumbs and flour into the beef and pork with your hands.

3. Add egg and milk mixture, sauteed veggies, ketchup and mix it up with your hands. Press the mixture into a meatloaf pan or a large loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes, then spread ketchup over the top of the loaf, then bake for another hour or until the IT is 165F. 

4. Let it sit for a few minutes, then slice and serve!

Source
Source: Recipe by Favorite Family Recipes
Web Page: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/version-claim-jumper-meatloaf.html

Ray's Italian Meatball Meatloaf

Okay, here's the back story on this recipe.  The girls were visiting and I intended to make the Italian Sausage Meatloaf.  I went to the store, saw New York Sausage Company on a package of ground pork and thought I was getting lean Italian sausage.  Nope.  It was just lean ground pork.  Okay, time to improvise.  The recipe below is what evolved and it is friggin' fantastic!  The recipe makes fantastic meatballs too.

Ingredients
1/2 large sweet onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 heaping tsp of chopped garlic in the jar
1 Tbs salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Herb-seasoned stuffing mix crushed
14 buttery round crackers, crushed
1 cup Italian 3 cheese blend grated cheese (Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano)
1 XLg egg
3 1/2 Tbs sour cream
1 1/2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1  cup red table wine (can add more if too dry)
1 15.5 oz can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning and juice, juice only in meat, tomatoes in topping
1 Tbs basil, dried
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp oregano
1 lb ground beef 7-10% fat
1 lb ground pork, lean
1 lb lean ground turkey with Italian spices.
Topping
Canned tomatoes from above.
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 Tbs sugar

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients and spices in the order showns in a KitchenAid bowl except the tomato products.  Open the can of tomatoes and drain the juice into the mixing bowl.  Once thoroughly drained into the bowl, set the tomatoes aside.

2. Turn the KitchenAid on low with the flat beater and let run for 5-10 minutes until all ingredients are well blended.  Then dump the bowl into a 9x13 aluminum roasting pan and shape the loaf so it is about 2" thick and almost touching the sides, but not quite, leaving about 1/2" space.

3. Combined the tomatoes, tomato paste, and sugar in a bowl then spread over the top of the meatloaf.

4. Heat smoker or oven to 350 degrees F using any wood you desire.

5. Smoke or bake uncovered 60-90 minutes. Check for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F at one hour.  Add additional baking time to reach the required temperature.

Ray's Creole Meatloaf

It is simple and has no need for gravy.  You can whip it up in no time.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef 7-10% fat
1 lb ground pork, lean
1 lb lean ground turkey with Italian spices.
3 XLg eggs
2 Tbs Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
2 cups Herb-seasoned stuffing mix crushed
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Ceasar salad dressing, bottled
1 15.5 oz can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning and juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients and spices in a KitchenAid bowl except the tomato products.

2. Turn the KitchenAid on low with the flat beater and let run just until all ingredients are well blended.  Then dump the bowl into a 9x13 aluminum roasting pan and shape the loaf so it is about 2" thick and almost touching the sides, but not quite, leaving about 1/2" space.

3. Combined the tomatoes and tomato paste in a bowl then spread over the top of the meatloaf.

4. Heat smoker or oven to 350 degrees F using any wood you desire.

5. Smoke or bake uncovered 60-90 minutes. Check for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F at one hour.  Add additional baking time to reach the desired temperature.
 
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Wow, thank you so much Ray ! That all sounds so tasty... I'll look mid-week on the salad if your wife makes it... Thanks a bunch my friend !
 
My Dad is one my all-time favorite cooks. I call him "The Master of Simple Techniques" and he really is. Similar to how BB King could play 2 notes and make you cry, my Dad can roast a potato with nothing more than salt, pepper and olive oil that is just a thing of beauty. One of my all-time favorite meals is his meatloaf. For years, I would always talk it up and ask him how he makes it and he would just shrug and say "ground beef, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, eggs and parmesan . .that's it".

A few years ago, my wife and I actually watched him make a meatloaf. Here is the recipe:

2lbs ground beef

5 eggs

roughly 1.5 cups of good quality grated parmesan cheese

roughly 1.5 cups unseasoned breadcrumbs

salt

pepper

The real "trick" to this meatloaf is the amount of kneading. You want to really knead the ingredients well with your fingers. 5 minutes at least . .10 minutes is better. Then form into a loaf and put in a roasting pan or casserole that is larger than it . .ie, don't stuff it into a loaf pan. It's going to ooze a bit while it cooks and you want the ooze to have somewhere to go. Bake (or smoke) @ 350 until it hits 165-170 . .about an hour and 15 minutes.

I know it seems overly simple but it's really good.
 
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Bride never makes the same loaf twice... BUT.... When she adds a couple TBS of ground horseradish to them, they get kicked up a notch or three.... very much MO-BETTA loaf....
 
Smoked meatloaf

I added 2 tubes (2 pounds) of ground turkey to the bowl of my stand mixer along with 1/2 packet of cornbread stove top stuffing, 1/8 cup teriaki sauce, 1/8 cup of minced onion & garlic, 1 egg, and a couple pinched of ground black pepper.

Mix this well with the mixer on low speed. I learned this trick on the cooking network -- it mixes thing together more evenly and keeps the mixture less compacted than doing it by hand.

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and dump mixture onto it and form into loaf. Put two layers of bacon strips on top. Trim away excess foil, leaving about 1 inch or so around the edges. Place in smoker at about 270 or so until international temp reached about 160.

About 30 minutes before I thought it would be done, I put some store brand Honey BBQ Sauce on top of the bacon. When the IT hit 160, I put it under the broiler until the sauce caramelizes and the bacon crisps.

Anyway, IT WAS GREAT, nice dense texture, yet moist and SO flavorful!





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My go-to meatloaf;

1lb. 85-15 ground beef

1lb. ground pork

2 eggs

1c. plain breadcrumbs

1/4c. minced onion

1/4c. minced red bell pepper

2Tbs. worchestershire

1tsp. salt

1tsp. GBP

2tsp. garlic powder

2Tbs. tomato paste

1/4c. ketchup

2Tbs. Cholula hot sauce

Mix the meats together well. Mix the dry ingredients together as well as the wet ones. Add both to the meat and mix well. Form into a loaf and put in a pan on a cooling rack. I usually will drizzle ketchup over the top, but if I want to get crazy I cover the top with slices of bacon. Bake at 350 to an IT of 155. Remove from oven and let rest to an IT of 160.

Simple cuke salad;

1 large English cuke

1/4c. canola oil

1/4c. apple cider vinegar

1Tbs. sugar

1/4c chopped red onion

salt and pepper to taste

Peel and thinly slice cuke. Put in a strainer and add a generous amount of salt. Mix and let drain at least an hour. Rinse cuke slices and put in a bowl along with the chopped red onion. Add the sugar and mix.  Combine vinegar and oil and stir to mix. Add to the cuke and onions and stir well. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate before serving.

Hope this helps.
 
Smoked meatloaf

I added 2 tubes (2 pounds) of ground turkey to the bowl of my stand mixer along with 1/2 packet of cornbread stove top stuffing, 1/8 cup teriaki sauce, 1/8 cup of minced onion & garlic, 1 egg, and a couple pinched of ground black pepper.

Mix this well with the mixer on low speed. I learned this trick on the cooking network -- it mixes thing together more evenly and keeps the mixture less compacted than doing it by hand.

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and dump mixture onto it and form into loaf. Put two layers of bacon strips on top. Trim away excess foil, leaving about 1 inch or so around the edges. Place in smoker at about 270 or so until international temp reached about 160.

About 30 minutes before I thought it would be done, I put some store brand Honey BBQ Sauce on top of the bacon. When the IT hit 160, I put it under the broiler until the sauce caramelizes and the bacon crisps.

Anyway, IT WAS GREAT, nice dense texture, yet moist and SO flavorful!





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My mom used to make turkey meatloaf with stuffing mixed in. It was soo good. She would also put a layer of stuffing in the middle of the loaf. No too loafs were ever the same. Lol
 
My twist on Old School Meatloaf. We have family friends that will request this when visiting. I bake it but no reason it can't be smoked...

Old School Meatloaf

2lbs Grnd Beef

2lbs Grnd Pork

3C Italian Style Bread Crumbs

1Env Lipton Onion Soup Mix

4ea Eggs

2ea Cloves Garlic, minced

2ea Cans Mild Green Chiles (4oz.)

2/3C Ketchup

3/4C Milk

1T Worcestershire Sauce

2tsp Black Pepper

Optional Topping:

1/2C Ketchup

1T Spicy Brown Mustard

2T Brown Sugar

Combine all and mix well. Form one or more loaves.

Bake at 400° for 45-60 minutes to an IT of 160°F

Rest 15 minutes and serve.

Smoke at desired temp to same IT...See Below...

 Chipotle Glazed Smoked Jalapeno Meatloaf

2Lbs Ground Beef or 1/2 & 1/2 Beef and Pork.

1 1/2 C Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs.

1 Envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix, See Note*

2ea Eggs

1 - 4oz can  Chopped Green Chiles.

1/3C Ketchup

1/3C Milk

2-4ea Jalapeno Chiles, seeded and chopped.

1tsp Ground Black Pepper

1tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Topping

1 - 4oz can Chipotle Salsa or Chipotle's in Adobo, seeded and pureed or minced until super fine.

3T Brown Sugar

1T Spicy Brown Mustard or other

1tsp Soy Sauce

Place the meat in a large bowl. Combine Topping ingredients and set aside. Combine the remaining meat loaf ingredients in a Food Processor and puree to the desired consistency leaving the Jalapenos chunky if desired. Add the mix to the meat and and knead until well combined and the mix gets tacky. Shape the Loaf, place in a shallow pan, 9" X 13" sprayed with PAM, and Smoke at 225-250°F for 1.5 hours. Cover the Meatloaf with the Topping and continue smoking for another 30 to 60 minutes, brushing more topping on every 10 minutes until the IT reaches 160°F. Allow the meat to rest 20 minutes, tented with foil, and serve. Microwave any remaining Topping until hot and drizzle over the sliced meatloaf...Enjoy... 

NOTE*...If you don't have or don't like the Onion Soup mix, you can substitute, 2T Dry Onion Flakes or 1C Chopped Fresh Onions, 2T " Better Than Bouillon " Beef Base and 1T Soy Sauce.
 
WHB, that's a wonderful thing to do for a friend. Ray's meatloaf is pretty good, but we really like the "Abi's Meatloaf" found on page 115 in Jeff's book, because we like all beef. I have done a couple of small mods to remove some of the heat.

2 lb. ground beef
1 sm. onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 cup oatmeal
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup milk

Glaze:
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup Jeff's BBQ sauce

This makes a very good and flavorful meat loaf without much kick or heat. I brush the glaze on at 30 minutes and 15 minutes until done, then let it rest for about 30 minutes. Slice and serve.

Give it a try, Joe
 
I usually make pretty much the same recipes that are already listed and it turns out really good.  The last few times I made it, I used the McCormick Meatloaf season packet (also added the onions and other goodies) but it came out so good that it's almost the normal thing for me to do.  

I still add a few other spices since we like it a bit spicy.

Good luck with your friend and family.
 
Justin, here is the Sweet & Tangy Cucumber Salad.  It is similar to Chewmeisters.

Cucumber & Onion Salad - Sweet & Tangy

This is a family favorite.  Be sure to portion the dressing with the veggies when served.  Everyone in our house drinks the remaining sweet & tangy dressing from their bowl when no one is looking!

Ingredients
2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick.
1/2 white onion, julienne cut, or cut into thin strips
2 Tbs salt
water to cover cucumbers and onion\

Dressing
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar or white apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Place sliced cucumbers and julienne onions in medium sized bowl.  Add water to cover.  Add salt and stir.  Let sit for an hour on the countertop or in the refrigerator.  Then drain the salt water from the cucumber and onion.

2. For the dressing mix the vinegar, water, and sugar in a separate bowl then add to the cucumber and onion.

3. Best served very cold.  If time allows let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.  Serve in individual bowls.
 
Ray, Nice recipe. In the first Restaurant I managed, we made this 10 gallons at a time. The stuff Flew out the doors...JJ
 
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