Cheese Stuffed Smoked Meatloaf

Cheese Stuffed Smoked Meatloaf - After viewing and drooling over the cheese stuffed smoked meatloaf photograph above how could you not crave a couple of slices of meatloaf accompanied by mash potatoes topped with brown gravy and a side of your favorite vegetables or salad. Meatloaf is considered by many, including myself, to be the ultimate comfort food! If I had my druthers I would have meatloaf in some form or other once a week ... but alas, even though too much of a good thing can be wonderful I need to show some restraint. I must admit that at most restaurants I check the menu to see if meatloaf is an option. As such, I have become quite a meatloaf connoiseur over the years. Meatloaves are plain scrumptious - some are just better than others.

I learned that I need to do more research on the type of cheese to use for stuffing meatloaves and other meats. While at the grocery store I selected a bar of Cracker Barrel extra sharp white cheddar cheese to use. Found it to be quite tasty but I did not foresee the impending cheese stuffing eruption when I sliced the meatloaf in half. Even though I allowed the smoked meatloaf to rest loosely under a foil tent for 15 minutes I was not prepared to see the molten cheese that spewed out on the cutting board. I was anticipating to enjoy a nice portion of sharp white cheddar cheese with each slice of meatloaf. I still enjoyed the cheese but more as a side than part of the meatloaf. After researching the types of cheese to use for stuffing I will repeat this recipe again cause as I stated earlier - I simply love meatloaf!

Start by using your favorite meatloaf recipe. Once you've smoked any meatloaf recipe on a MAK 2 Star General wood pellet smoker-grill you'll never go back to baking one in the oven. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it just taste so much better. Be aware that you can use any wood pellet smoker-grill for all my recipes on this Blog and/or in my cookbook The Wood Pellet Smoker & Grill Cookbook.

I used an easy recipe for the meatloaf by mixing a pound each of hamburger and Jimmy Dean pork sausage with 2 eggs, diced onion, diced red bell pepper, garlic, seasoned salt, garlic salt, black pepper, Italian bread crumbs, and tomato sauce. One of these days I'll measure the ingredients but for now just suffice it to say that after years of experience I throw in some of this and some of that with of pinch here and there.

Spread out the meatloaf on parchment paper and form it to accept a block of cheese. Use the parchment paper to roll the meatloaf and seal the ends. Preheat your wood pellet smoker-grill to 180ºF (smoke setting) with your favorite flavored pellets. I tend to levitate more towards Hickory these days. Smoke the cheese stuffed meatloaf for an hour at 180ºF. Top the meatloaf with tomato sauce and bump the pit temperature to 375ºF. Finish cooking the meatloaf at 375ºF until the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160ºF of greater. Always cook to internal temperatures. For planning purposes It took me 2¼ hours to smoke/cook the meatloaf.