Been toying with this idea for a few days and decided to pull the trigger yesterday. We had a labor reprieve from yard work due to nasty weather. Spent some time in the garage working on a new (and very creative) metal fabrication project for my beloved Tracy and shut down about 2:00 to get dinner started. Turned out I didn't have any ground beef so got out four 6-ounce 85/15 hamburgers and used that as the base for the meatloaf.
The culprits.
Got the meat all mixed up and the right consistency. Took about 2/3 of it and formed the bottom of the meatloaf.
Add a bunch of Cooper's extra sharp white American cheese.
Take the last of the meat mixture and form it over the top making sure to get it as well sealed around the outside as possible.
Onto the smoker running pecan wood.
I made some beef gravy and took a small amount of that to make a bourbon reduction for the glaze. Used the cheap bourbon for this one.
Glaze all done. Man this stuff tastes (and smells) amazing, even using the cheap bourbon.
Here we are about 1 1/2 hours in. Starting to firm up and taking on a nice color.
Time for the first coat of glaze.
Did some mods to the burner system last week and this is the first time using the smoker since then. Target temp was 225 but this is where the smoker settled in so I just left it alone.
Making a white cheddar cream sauce.
Some fresh broccoli cut up and in the steamer.
Cheese sauce done.
I applied a second coat of glaze when the IT of the meatloaf hit 160. It's all done now and pulled at 165.
Never tried this before but ladies and gentlemen, this is what I was hoping for from the outset.
Sliced and ready to serve.
Also made some mashed taters. Needed a vessel for the gravy I made earlier. All plated up: meatloaf with a drizzle of the gravy, taters w/ gravy, and broccoli with the white cheddar cream sauce. Minimal gravy on the meatloaf because I didn't want to obliterate the melted cheese inside.
Yep....you got it
This was outstanding and only my 2nd successful meatloaf. I'd always tried following somebody else's recipe and was underwhelmed every time. Finally tossed all of those recipes and just went with instinct. The results were a resounding success. The addition of the cheese in the middle was truly fantastic but that bourbon reduction glaze is what really set it over the top. Man that was incredible!! Only burned a couple chunks of pecan wood because ground meat can take on a LOT of smoke flavor in a hurry. Had the perfect smokiness: light but no doubt you were eating BBQ. All in all a very successful meal and one we thoroughly enjoyed.
Gonna call this one done. Got a fat dog pawing at me for her morning walk and need to get breakfast going for my dearly beloved. Y'all take care and see everybody soon....andthanks for stickingthis one out if you made it all the way to the end.
Robert
The culprits.
Got the meat all mixed up and the right consistency. Took about 2/3 of it and formed the bottom of the meatloaf.
Add a bunch of Cooper's extra sharp white American cheese.
Take the last of the meat mixture and form it over the top making sure to get it as well sealed around the outside as possible.
Onto the smoker running pecan wood.
I made some beef gravy and took a small amount of that to make a bourbon reduction for the glaze. Used the cheap bourbon for this one.
Glaze all done. Man this stuff tastes (and smells) amazing, even using the cheap bourbon.
Here we are about 1 1/2 hours in. Starting to firm up and taking on a nice color.
Time for the first coat of glaze.
Did some mods to the burner system last week and this is the first time using the smoker since then. Target temp was 225 but this is where the smoker settled in so I just left it alone.
Making a white cheddar cream sauce.
Some fresh broccoli cut up and in the steamer.
Cheese sauce done.
I applied a second coat of glaze when the IT of the meatloaf hit 160. It's all done now and pulled at 165.
Never tried this before but ladies and gentlemen, this is what I was hoping for from the outset.
Sliced and ready to serve.
Also made some mashed taters. Needed a vessel for the gravy I made earlier. All plated up: meatloaf with a drizzle of the gravy, taters w/ gravy, and broccoli with the white cheddar cream sauce. Minimal gravy on the meatloaf because I didn't want to obliterate the melted cheese inside.
Yep....you got it
This was outstanding and only my 2nd successful meatloaf. I'd always tried following somebody else's recipe and was underwhelmed every time. Finally tossed all of those recipes and just went with instinct. The results were a resounding success. The addition of the cheese in the middle was truly fantastic but that bourbon reduction glaze is what really set it over the top. Man that was incredible!! Only burned a couple chunks of pecan wood because ground meat can take on a LOT of smoke flavor in a hurry. Had the perfect smokiness: light but no doubt you were eating BBQ. All in all a very successful meal and one we thoroughly enjoyed.
Gonna call this one done. Got a fat dog pawing at me for her morning walk and need to get breakfast going for my dearly beloved. Y'all take care and see everybody soon....andthanks for stickingthis one out if you made it all the way to the end.
Robert
