I know, what was I thinking of placing a white sauce on top of a Smoked Meatloaf!! This was an experiment gone RIGHT! It turned out incredible according to my wife and guests. Elevating southern comfort foods seems to be a niche in this household. It's a great change up on a southern classic and definitely one worth trying!
Smoked Meatloaf with Smoking Flavors!
When it comes to food, I am typically not a "southern cook", but I am all about flavor. When I can take meatloaf (typically made with tomato-based sauces) and change it up with other ingredients, then that's what I am all about!
I love using BBQ or Smoking techniques to change a dishes flavoring components. Next on my list is adding cheese to this recipe. If you have ideas, let me know in the review!
My Favorite BBQ Seasoning of the Season!
For this recipe, I used Kairos Santa Maria rub but you can substitute for any beef or steak seasoning of your choice if you don't have a bottle of this on hand. You can also use equal parts salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, and garlic powder if you're in a pinch.
Why Alabama White Sauce?
I know you're thinking Alabama white sauce is usually a little runny and it's something you dip wings in, but I took those same principles and made a thick sauce out of it to top the meatloaf. I couldn't use mayonnaise for this recipe because when you heat to fats together, they just won't mix, and mayo is hard to heat when adding vinegar which can cause it to curdle or separate the proteins.
How Long to Smoke Meatloaf
This meatloaf isn't hard to make, but it does require a bit of time in the smoker (around 4 hours) or technically it's a pellet grill unless you have a true offset then that's even better. It can be hard to wait this long for this tasty meatloaf but trust me when I tell you it will be really good.
It takes 4 hours to smoke this smoked meatloaf. Other meatloaf varieties will likely take less time to fully cook depending upon what temperature you cook at.
Slightly more important that watching the clock for this meatloaf is ensuring the meat reaches a safe temperature for consumption. This meatloaf can be pulled off the smoker when it reaches an internal temperature of 165° F.
Make sure you have an internal meat thermometer of choice so you can track the temperature of the meat while it smokes so you can know how much time is left and where the temp sets at during cook.
Now let's get to the recipe and all the ingredients needed as well as some cooking items and utensils for this dish.
Helpful Items for Making an Easy Smoked Meatloaf Recipe
- Flint and Flame Knives - I use these daily and have had them for over 2 years. I've yet to sharpen them! Definitely great quality knives. Code CHEFTIM40 to get 40% this knife or their entire website
- Smoker - I've been loving my Traeger Pellet Grill! Keep in mind there are plenty of sizes to meet your needs. We have a bigger one to feed this hungry family!
- 3 Qt Sauce Pan - Hexclad pans are my brand of choice. I've used them for years and they've been withstanding all my cooking and we cook A LOT.
- Wire Whisk - Oxo brand whisk that's easy to clean and gets the mixing done!
- Kairos BBQ Rub - I used Santa Maria rub for this meatloaf, but all of their seasonings are amazing!
- Food Processor - this may be small but i enjoy having a small food processor to do small batches of processing
Ingredients you'll need for your Smoked Meat Loaf
For The Meat Loaf
- 1 lb Ground Bison
- 1 lb Ground Lamb
- 1 Red Onion, diced
- 1 Bell Pepper, diced
- 1 Cup Instant Oats, pureed
- 2 tablespoon BBQ Rub
- 2 Eggs
- 3 tablespoon Alabama Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Avocado Oil or your oil of choice
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Horseradish
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon Spicy Brown Mustard
- 1 teaspoon White Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar or ⅓ teaspoon Monkfruit Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon Corn Starch
- ¾ Cup Heavy Cream
Instructions for an Alabama style Smoked Meatloaf
Step 1 : Best advice for this recipe and many others I made are to gather all your ingredients on a counter so that you can grab them instead of searching pantry or refrigerator when an ingredient is needed.
Step 2 : Dice your onion and bell pepper. On an oiled skillet on medium heat, sauté until tender (6 - 7 minutes). Set aside to cool.
Step 3 : Puree' or process your oats. You don't want them too fine though. In a mixing bowl, add in whisked eggs, onions, peppers, ground meats, oats, BBQ rub and 3 tablespoon Alabama Sauce. Mix together and place inside a loaf pan. Once inside the pan be sure to press down on it to form the meatloaf. Then, freeze it for 45 minutes.
Cooking the Meatloaf
Step 4 : Preheat the smoker to 250°F. Once up to temp, place meatloaf directly on the rack. Close the lid and let it smoke for 4 hours.
Pro Tip : Using a butter knife, run it along the outside edges of the pan so meatloaf will release onto your spatula and then place on the smoker rack.
Making the Sauce
Step 5 : While the Meatloaf is smoking, make the sauce. Premeasure ingredients to make it easier. Using your 3 qt saucepan over medium low heat, add ingredients one by one in this order: Vinegar, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire, mustard, pepper, salt, garlic, onion powder, cayenne and sugar. Mix with wire whisk.
Step 6 : Combine heavy cream and corn starch together in a small bowl and pour into the sauce and whisk. After 60-90 seconds, the sauce will start to thicken up and turn almost into gravy. If not, add another ½ tablespoon of corn starch and 2 tablespoon cream together and pour into sauce and it will thicken. Once thickened place in a bowl and let cool.
Step 7 : At the 3 hours mark your meatloaf should be at 130° to 135° Fahrenheit. Now, it's time to place the Alabama White sauce on top. Paint it on with a brush or spatula and coat it as thick as you can. Once evenly spread on top of the meatloaf, close the lid and cook until the internal temp reaches 165°F. Remove from the smoker with your spatula and let rest for 5 minutes.
What are the "must haves" on your family menus? Let me know your families favorite recipes in the comments! I love gathering ideas from fellow cooks!
Recipe
Smoked Meatloaf with Alabama White Sauce
Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Horseradish
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon Spicy Brown Mustard
- 1 teaspoon White Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar or ⅓ teaspoon Monkfruit Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon Corn Starch
- ¾ Cup Heavy Cream
Meatloaf Mixture:
- 1 lb Ground Bison
- 1 lb Ground Lamb
- 1 Red Onion diced
- 1 Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Cup Instant Oats pureed
- 2 tablespoon BBQ Rub
- 2 Eggs
- 3 tablespoon Alabama Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Avocado Oil or your oil of choice
Instructions
- Gather and measure out ingredients.
- Dice your onion and bell pepper. On an oiled skillet on medium heat, sauté until tender (6 - 7 minutes). Set aside to cool.
- Puree' or process your oats. You don't want them too fine though. In a mixing bowl, add in whisked eggs, onions, peppers, ground meats, oats, BBQ rub and 3 tablespoon Alabama Sauce. Mix together and place inside a loaf pan. Once inside the pan be sure to press down on it to form the meatloaf. Then, freeze it for 45 minutes.
- Preheat the smoker to 250°F. Once up to temp, place meatloaf directly on the rack. Close the lid and let it smoke for 4 hours.
- While the Meatloaf is smoking, make the sauce. Premeasure ingredients to make it easier. Using your 3 qt saucepan over medium low heat, add ingredients one by one in this order: Vinegar, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire, mustard, pepper, salt, garlic, onion powder, cayenne and sugar. Mix with wire whisk.
- Combine heavy cream and corn starch together in a small bowl and pour into the sauce and whisk. After 60-90 seconds, the sauce will start to thicken up and turn almost into gravy. If not, add another ½ tablespoon of corn starch and 2 tablespoon cream together and pour into sauce and it will thicken. Once thickened place in a bowl and let cool.
- At the 3 hours mark your meatloaf should be at 130° to 135° Fahrenheit. Paint on sauce with a brush or spatula and thickly coat it. Once evenly spread, close the lid and cook until the internal temp reaches 165°F. Remove from the smoker let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
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Chef Tim Clowers says
Perfect Smoked Meatloaf