Most of what I post here is something I worked out myself. This one isn’t. It’s Matt Pittman’s smoked meatloaf from Meat Church, and I follow it almost to a T. I’m putting it here because it has never disappointed, not once, and because it might be the favorite meal in our house. I never make less than two at a time, and they go fast.
Credit where it’s due
The recipe is Smoked BBQ Meatloaf by Matt Pittman of Meat Church, published on the Meat Church website in March 2014. He also has a video of the cook, which is worth watching before you start. Everything below is Matt’s recipe as I make it, with the few swaps I make called out in their own section. If you want it exactly as he wrote it, go to the source.
Why it’s the house favorite
It’s a house favorite here, maybe the house favorite, and it is the reason I never make just one. Matt swaps BBQ sauce in for the usual ketchup, the smoke does the rest, and I even do the chopped white bread soaked in milk, same as he does. Every time I make it, it comes out the way I hoped it would.
At a glance
| Recipe by | Matt Pittman, Meat Church |
| Makes | Two loaves, in 9×5 pans |
| Meat | My version: 3 lbs 85/15 hamburger and 1 lb ground sausage, a 3 to 1 ratio. (Matt’s original: 3 lbs ground chuck and 1 lb ground pork.) |
| Mix-ins | 4 slices white bread, crumbled, soaked in 1/3 cup whole milk; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 2 beaten eggs |
| Sauces | BBQ sauce in the mix (Matt uses 1/4 cup), a splash of Worcestershire, a very thin mop near the end, and more BBQ sauce to glaze |
| Freezer | About 4 hours in plastic-wrap-lined loaf pans, just to set up and harden |
| Smoker | 275°F on my Traeger. (Matt’s original: 250°F with oak, hickory or pecan.) |
| Done at | 165°F internal. About 2 1/2 to 3 hours for me, so I start checking somewhere in that window, and it may run an extra 30 to 45 minutes because the loaves go on partly frozen. (Matt says about 4 hours at 250°F.) |
| Mop | A very thin layer of BBQ sauce about 25 minutes before it comes off |
| Rest | 10 to 15 minutes in the pan, then glaze |
How it goes together
1. Get the smoker going
Matt cooks at 250°F with oak, hickory or pecan. His video uses an offset smoker, but he says a pellet grill works fine too, and that is what I use. I run mine at 275°F, only because that is where my Traeger likes to sit. Matt also says you can cook hotter if you want less smoke or you are short on time.
2. Soak the bread, then mix
Crumble the white bread into the milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes. In a big bowl, combine the hamburger, sausage, onion, eggs, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire and your seasoning, then add the soaked bread. Mix it all together by hand.
I use 85/15 hamburger because 80/20 seems hard to find anymore. It works just fine. The sausage has plenty of fat to make up for it. If you want to make more than two loaves, keep the ratio at about 1 pound of sausage to every 3 pounds of hamburger. That works well for us.
3. Pan it and freeze it (this is the key)
This step is what makes the whole thing work. Line two 9×5 loaf pans with plastic wrap, pack the meat in, fold the wrap closed over the top, and put both pans in the freezer for about 4 hours.
The goal isn’t to freeze it solid. It’s to let the meat set up and harden. Then you can lift each loaf out of the pan, peel off the plastic wrap, and it stays in a perfect brick. That brick can sit on the smoker and not fall apart.
Matt’s recipe says at least 4 hours and notes overnight works too. Overnight is the most convenient, but I prefer about 4 hours right before the loaves go on the Traeger.
4. Bind it and rub it
Pop the loaves out of the pans and unwrap them. Brush each one with a binder, then coat it with rub. I use yellow mustard as the binder, then Matt’s Holy Gospel seasoning and my own garlic and herb blend.
5. Smoke to 165°F
Put the loaves on the smoker and leave them until the center reads 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. At 275°F on my Traeger that takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours, so I start checking somewhere in that window. Don’t be surprised if it runs an extra 30 to 45 minutes, because the loaves go on partly frozen. Matt’s number is roughly 4 hours at 250°F, and he is clear that the temperature is what matters, not the clock.
About 25 minutes before I pull them, I mop on a very small layer of BBQ sauce. It’s a thin coat, not a lot. When I check the temperature and they’re getting close, I’ll glaze them lightly, then take them off shortly after once they’re up to temp.
6. Rest, glaze, slice
Let the loaves rest in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then brush on more BBQ sauce for that sticky glaze. Slice thick, and we usually dive right in.
What I do differently
Not much. These are the only changes I make to Matt’s recipe:
- No W Sauce. Matt’s recipe uses 1/4 cup of The W Sauce Fireshire, a Worcestershire-style sauce, and also uses it as the binder. I skip it and add a splash of regular Worcestershire to the mix instead, with yellow mustard as the binder.
- Hamburger and sausage. 3 lbs of 85/15 hamburger and 1 lb of ground sausage, in place of the chuck and ground pork. It is the same 3 to 1 ratio.
- My own BBQ sauce. The recipe leaves the sauce up to you. I usually make my own, and I’ll share that recipe separately sometime. When I don’t, Sweet Baby Ray’s Original is always just fine. You’re not going to be disappointed.
- My own garlic and herbs in place of Meat Church’s Garlic & Herb, along with the Holy Gospel. I use that blend on a lot of things, and maybe I’ll share it one day.
- A thin mop of BBQ sauce about 25 minutes before I pull the loaves, on top of the glaze at the end.
- About 4 hours in the freezer rather than overnight.
- A Traeger at 275°F instead of an offset at 250°F.
- Never fewer than two loaves. Matt’s recipe makes two. Some days I make more, keeping the same ratio of 1 pound of sausage to 3 pounds of hamburger.
Tips
- The freezer step is the key. About 4 hours in plastic-wrap-lined pans sets the meat into a brick that holds together on the smoker.
- You want it hardened, not frozen solid.
- Soak the bread in the milk first and mix everything by hand.
- Cook to 165°F internal, not to the clock, and expect an extra 30 to 45 minutes because the loaves go on partly frozen.
- Keep the mid-cook mop thin. A very small amount is plenty.
- 85/15 hamburger works fine when you add sausage for the fat. Keep about 1 pound of sausage to every 3 pounds of hamburger.
- Rest the loaves in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before you glaze.
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