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I love meatloaf so I decided to break out the Weber and smoke one. Â The Weber kettle is one of the most affordable and versatile bbq tools. Â For $99 you can get an amazing grill and one of the best smokers around. Â Since I decided to smoke this low and slow, I needed to come up with a way to keep the meatloaf moist and delicious. Â To do this, Â I wrapped it in bacon. Â Not only does the bacon keep it moist, it adds another layer of flavor. Â Bacon makes everything better!
Bacon Wrapped Smoked Meatloaf
Add the diced onion, green pepper and ground meat to a large bowl.
Add the bbq sauce, eggs, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to the bowl.
Mix the meatloaf with your hands and set aside.
On a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper, start to make a bacon weave.  To make the weave, lay out eight strips vertically on a piece of foil or plastic wrap. Then fold over every other vertical piece of bacon in the middle, then place a strip horizontally across the vertical bacon. Then unfold the strips. Next fold back the alternate row of bacon that you previously left flat. Then place the next piece of bacon across the vertical strips directly adjacent to the first horizontal piece. Repeat two more times.  Once you finish the first half, repeat with the other half.
Drizzle some barbecue sauce on the bacon weave and then top with the meatloaf.
Then drizzle a little more sauce over the top of the meatloaf. Â Finally, using the foil/parchment for help, fold the bacon around the meatloaf. Â Make sure to keep the crease on the top of the meatloaf. Â That way you can flip it onto the grill without any problems.
Preheat your grill or smoker to 275 degrees. Â Make sure it is set up for offset cooking.
To set up the Weber for offset cooking, I utilized two firebricks lengthwise down the middle of the grill. Â Then, I put about 5 lbs of unlit charcoal on one side. Â Then, I lit 7 brickets and placed them on one end of the pile. Â This is a slow Minion method that will produce just enough heat for about 4-5 hours. Â I then placed a few wood chunks throughout the pile. Â I wanted the offset side to read at about 275 degrees.
Once the smoker/grill is up to temperature, place the meatloaf on to the smoker. Â To do this, just flip it over onto the grates.
Cook for 2.5 hours or until the internal temperature is 135 degrees. Â Then, remove the lid and baste the outside of the meatloaf with your favorite bbq sauce.
Continue cooking for about 1 hour more or until the internal temperature is 163 degrees. Â At this point, remove from the smoker, cover with a piece of tin foil and let rest for 15 minutes.
Slice and enjoy. Â Dana and I loved the meatloaf. Â It was smoky, moist and delicious. Â I loved the bacon, but Dana thought it was a little overkill. Â It is easily removeable after cooking, so if you do not like it, just remove it. Â However, I would definitely recommend leaving it on for the cook. Â It keeps the meatloaf moist and delicious.
Serve with your favorite sides. Â I like goat cheese mashed potatoes and corn.
- 2/3 lb ground beef
- 2/3 lb ground pork
- 2/3 lb ground veal
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 small green pepper diced
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup tomato based BBQ Sauce
- 1 lb bacon
- extra BBQ sauce for basting
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Bacon Wrapped Smoked Meatloaf
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Add the diced onion, green pepper and ground meat to a large bowl.
-
Add the bbq sauce, eggs, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to the bowl.
-
Mix the meatloaf with your hands and set aside.
-
On a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper start to make a bacon weave. To make the weave lay out eight strips vertically on a piece of foil or plastic wrap. Then fold over every other vertical piece of bacon in the middle then place a strip horizontally across the vertical bacon. Then unfold the strips. Next fold back the alternate row of bacon that you previously left flat. Then place the next piece of bacon across the vertical strips directly adjacent to the first horizontal piece. Repeat two more times. Once you finish the first half, repeat with the other half.
-
Drizzle some barbecue sauce on the bacon weave and then top with the meatloaf.
-
Then drizzle a little more sauce over the top of the meatloaf. Finally using the foil/parchment for help, fold the bacon around the meatloaf. Make sure to keep the crease on the top of the meatloaf. That way you can flip it onto the grill without any problems.
-
Preheat your grill or smoker to 275 degrees. Make sure it is set up for offset cooking.
-
To set up the Weber for offset cooking, I utilized two firebricks lengthwise down the middle of the grill. Then I put about 5 lbs of unlit charcoal on one side. Then I lit 7 brickets and placed them on one end of the pile. This is a slow minion method that will produce just enough heat for about 4-5 hours. I then placed a few wood chunks throughout the pile. I wanted the offset side to read at about 275 degrees.
-
Once the smoker/grill is up to temperature, place the meatloaf on to the smoker. To do this, just flip it over onto the grates.
-
Cook for 2.5 hours or until the internal temperature is 135 degrees. Then remove the lid and baste the outside of the meatloaf with your favorite bbq sauce.
-
Continue cooking for about 1 hour more or until the internal temperature is 163 degrees. At this point, remove from the smoker, cover with a piece of tin foil and let rest for 15 minutes.
-
Slice and enjoy.
Dana and I loved the meatloaf. It was smokey, moist and delicious. I loved the bacon, but Dana thought it was a little overkill. It is easily removeable after cooking, so if you do not like it, just remove it. However, I would definitely recommend leaving it on for the cook. It keeps the meatloaf moist and delicious. Most supermarkets have premade meatloaf mixes in the butcher department. These contain equal parts beef, pork and veal. Getting 2 pounds of the meatloaf mix is the easiest way to order the meatloaf ground meats!
I've never done a bacon weave for the reason your wife cites, seems a bit much. But I know people LOVE it. It looks gorgeous, Rex, great looking meat loaf. The bacon would be good when it's used for a meatloaf sandwich though, the sourdough would balance it out I think.
I agree the bacon would be good in a sandwich. I liked it. Especially since i glazed it with sauce at the end. The sauce, bacon fat and hint of smoke made it the perfect meatloaf.
Hey bro, love your site. I am going to make a meatloaf with cheddar chease (just a bit) and sausage, bake, and THEN grill. The cheddar gives a bit juicy-ness.
Heart, Priya
I would like to ask you if I will like to bake dem in the oven, how many degree and how long time to bake dem. I really like to try. It’s looking so good. I will wait for your reply,please. Thank you.
Sukrudee,
I would bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes or until the center temperature is 163 degrees. Then let rest for 5 minutes before serving. In the last 15 minutes of baking I would coat with barbecue sauce.
I’ve done the bacon wrapped meatloaf thing for years, just recently started looking around on Internet stuff. I like your recipe, kind of the same idea, but what I’ve found that works real well too is making a roll up. Bacon weave on parchment, then another piece of parchment on top of that, spread out the meat mixture into a flat rectangle. Top with baby spinach, shredded mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni slices. Roll that into a log, remove paper, then I squeeze sweet Baby Rays honey mustard dipping sauce on the bacon, roll that around meat and smoke it, finishing like you do. Super moist and delicious.
That sounds good. I’ll have to try it that way next time. Thanks for the suggestion.
I have been using a weber kettle for years,(on my 4th and it’s a Performer) but the
idea of the 2 fire bricks, is pure genius. I have the weber dividers for the charcoal,
but nothing in the middle to stop the heat intrusion.
Daniel, Once you try the fire bricks you will never go back.
This was the first time I have ever smoked meatloaf and I just want to say thank you and my family Loved it so much they devoured the whole thing the same night! I
I was wondering if you had any recipes for smoked chicken wings if so could you please share?
This is an absolutely awesome recipe! Thank you so much for posting it. I did end up baking it because I ran out of time, but will be making this again before the summer is out in the smoker. I liked that you called for the beef/pork/veal mix in this. I happened to have 6 oz of Andouille sausage left over from another recipe and sandwiched that in the middle of the loaf. I also had some hi-temp cheese and incorporated that into the meat mix. This is one of those recipes that stands fine on it’s own but is fun to experiment with. Thanks again and I’m looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Steve,
Glad you enjoyed it.
Rex