Another Damn Food Blog

Barbecue Meatloaf

Homestyle meatloaf, barbecue flavored. No meat was actually barbecued in the making of this loaf.
No ratings yet
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Resting Time 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings
Calories 440 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 loaf pan, glass, 1.5 quart
  • 1 pan, saute, 12 inch nonstick, with lid
  • 1 silicone basting brush
  • 1 mixing bowl, stainless
  • 2 gloves, disposable, food grade

Ingredients
  

  • 16 oz beef, ground, 90/10
  • 16 oz breakfast sausage, bulk
  • 15 ea crackers, Ritz
  • 6 oz pepper, bell, red, raw
  • 6 oz onion, sweet
  • 6 oz celery
  • 8 oz mushroom, cremini
  • 100 g garlic, crushed
  • 8 g salt, kosher
  • 2 g pepper, black, fresh cracked
  • 2 g thyme, dried
  • 3 g paprika, smoked, ground
  • 3 g powder, chili
  • 2 ml liquid smoke
  • 3 oz sauce, barbecue
  • as needed fat, spray-on pan lube

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350°.
  • Fine chop your onions, celery, pepper, and mushrooms.
    6 oz pepper, bell, red, raw, 6 oz onion, sweet, 6 oz celery, 8 oz mushroom, cremini
  • Break your crackers into small crumbs. Not dust. Don't go crazy. It'll make the texture... weird....
    15 ea crackers, Ritz
  • Fire your skillet up on high heat. Lube that bad boy when hot. Who doesn't like to be lubed when hot. Come on!
    as needed fat, spray-on pan lube
  • Sweat down your veg. Raw bits are unpleasant in meatloaf. Salt the veg to help them give up their moisture.
    6 oz pepper, bell, red, raw, 6 oz celery, 8 oz mushroom, cremini, 8 g salt, kosher, 6 oz onion, sweet
  • When the vegetables are translucent, add your garlic and cook for a little bit to take the raw garlic edge off.
    100 g garlic, crushed
  • Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp.
  • When the veg have cooled, toss your meat into a large mixing bowl. Add the pepper, paprika, thyme, liquid smoke and chili powder. Mix thoroughly with your hands. really get in there. Don't let your meat loaf.
    16 oz beef, ground, 90/10, 16 oz breakfast sausage, bulk, 2 g pepper, black, fresh cracked, 3 g paprika, smoked, ground, 3 g powder, chili, 2 ml liquid smoke, 2 g thyme, dried
  • Add your veg to your meat and incorporate with your hands again. It'll take a little work to get them all incorporated, but don't be discouraged. By all means, include any liquid that came off the veg while resting.
  • Add your cracker crumbs and incorporate thoroughly.
    15 ea crackers, Ritz
  • Pan up and bake that puppy for about 45 minutes or until the internal temp hits 160° F. It will carry over to 165°. It's also going to spend some quality time under the broiler here in a bit.
  • Let the meatloaf rest so suck up some of the juices squeezed out during the cooking. Fire up your oven to "Broil" while you're waiting.
  • When the top of the loaf is cool to the touch. Baste with barbecue sauce.
    3 oz sauce, barbecue
  • Broil it until the sauce bubbles and becomes sticky.
  • Do it again.
  • Do it again.
  • Let it rest again for about 15 minutes. You're done.

Notes

We had something similar to this, flavor wise, at the last restaurant I worked in. No idea what that recipe was, but this one is one that I developed when I was a Steward at my Lodge. Granted, that version served 50 people, but it scaled down nicely.
I prefer to serve this with roasted potatoes since, this being barbecue flavored, doesn't lend itself well to gravy. That leather layer of barbecue vinyl on the top is fairly concentrated. My nod to my mother for essentially making ketchup and mustard flavored fruit roll-ups on the top of her meatloaf.
I also like to garnish with tobacco onions, which are thinly sliced onions, dusted with flour and deep fried. When properly executed, it looks like tobacco. We used to call it an "onion snatch" back in the day.
Happy cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 4ozCalories: 440kcal
Keyword barbecue, meatloaf
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Comments are closed!