by Beth Politsch

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Growing up, my mom made Italian meatloaf in the oven stuffed with mozzarella cheese and smothered in marinara sauce. Not surprisingly, this delicious combination is still one of my favorites. But it hadn’t occurred to me until recently to try smoking the meatloaf prior to topping it with marinara. Jay and I did just that last Saturday at the store, with absolutely mouth-watering success. Try this Smoked (& Stuffed) Italian Meatloaf on your smoker for an entree that’s packed with flavor (& cheese!).

For those of you who are interested in making a slightly healthier, but just as tasty, version, I’ve also included a modified turkey version of the meatloaf below. I made the turkey version at the store last Saturday, as well, and received rave reviews from my husband and parents (and protests from Jay for ruining a perfectly good beef recipe)!

I derived the following recipes from my mom’s original recipe, Michael Chiarello’s Italian Meatloaf recipe, and advice I found on the internet for smoking meatloaf.

Ingredients:
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 small red pepper, seeded, diced
* 1 onion, diced
* 2 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) chopped garlic
* 1 pound ground beef
* 2 eggs
* 3/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Gia Russa Whole Grain Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs)
* 1 cup grated Parmesan
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
* 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (or more or less, to your liking)
* 1 cup marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Heat smoker to 250 degrees.
2. Saute the pepper, onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft. Set aside to cool.
3. When sauteed vegetables are cool, add them to the ground beef in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients, except Italian cheese blend and marinara sauce. Combine ingredients in bowl, but forget using a spoon! Use your hands to knead the mixture together (fun, huh?).
4. Place this mixture on a large piece of waxed or parchment paper and flatten into a large rectangle about 1/2″ thick.
5. Sprinkle the Italian cheese blend evenly over the top of the meat mixture.
6. Pull up one side of the parchment or waxed paper and begin to roll the meatloaf, using the paper to guide the meat so that it doesn’t break apart.
7. When roll is complete, press the ends of the meat together smoothly, so the cheese is completely enclosed. Add smoking wood of your choice to your firebox (we used cherry) and put meatloaf directly on the smoker grate or in a shallow pan.
8. Smoke meatloaf for about 2.5 hours, or until the internal meat temperature reaches about 150 degrees. Do not add more smoking wood.
9. Move meatloaf to a foil pan and top with marinara sauce. Place pan back in smoker for 20 – 30 more minutes until internal temperature reaches 155 – 160 degrees. Prior to putting the marinara-topped meatloaf back in the smoker, let the smoke die out. If your smoker is still producing smoke, tent the foil pan with foil so the marinara sauce doesn’t absorb smoke.
10. Remove meatloaf from smoker, slice and enjoy! I like to heat any remaining marinara sauce and spoon it over the top.

Smoked (& Stuffed) Italian Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients:
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 small red pepper, seeded, diced
* 1 onion, diced
* 2 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) chopped garlic
* 1 pound ground turkey (I used 99% lean turkey breast)
* 4 egg whites
* 3/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Gia Russa Whole Grain Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs)
* 1 cup grated Parmesan
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
* 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend (use less for a lower fat version)
* 1 cup marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Heat smoker to 250 degrees.
2. Saute the pepper, onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft. Set aside to cool.
3. When sauteed vegetables are cool, add them to the ground turkey in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients, except Italian cheese blend and marinara sauce. Combine ingredients in bowl, but forget using a spoon! Use your hands to knead the mixture together (fun, huh?).
4. Place this mixture on a large piece of waxed or parchment paper and flatten into a large rectangle about 1/2″ thick.
5. Sprinkle the Italian cheese blend evenly over the top of the meat mixture.
6. Pull up one side of the parchment or waxed paper and begin to roll the meatloaf, using the paper to guide the meat so that it doesn’t break apart.
7. When roll is complete, press the ends of the meat together smoothly, so the cheese is completely enclosed. Add smoking wood of your choice to your firebox (we used cherry) and put meatloaf directly on the smoker grate or in a shallow pan.
8. Smoke meatloaf for about 3 hours, or until the internal meat temperature reaches about 155- 160 degrees. Do not add more smoking wood.
9. Move meatloaf to a foil pan and top with marinara sauce. Place pan back in smoker for 20 – 30 more minutes until internal temperature reaches 160 – 165 degrees. Prior to putting the marinara-topped meatloaf back in the smoker, let the smoke die out. If your smoker is still producing smoke, tent the foil pan with foil so the marinara sauce doesn’t absorb smoke.
10. Remove meatloaf from smoker, slice and enjoy! I like to heat any remaining marinara sauce and spoon it over the top.

Note: The raw turkey version will be a bit stickier and less firm than the beef version. But don’t worry! Once you’ve rolled it, made your loaf and transferred it to the smoker, it will hold together just fine.