Grilled Meatloaf

1″ inch slice of Meatloaf with a Hoisin Sauce glaze on a blue plate.

The Best Meatloaf

Most folks agree that you haven’t really had meat loaf until you’ve had it grilled. I originally wrote this recipe using an oven but a grill follows the same basic principles. Set you’re temp, keep the lid down and watch the clock and that’s basically all you have to do. My recipe, however, excludes ketchup. If you’ve got a problem with that, just top it with a Ketchup glaze at the end instead of my Hoisin Sauce and no one’s the wiser. I can promise you this, though, this recipe is tender, moist, flavorful, it will still stay on your fork and it makes the best leftover sandwich’s.

Raw ground beef and pork sausage in separate packages.

Meatloaf not Beef loaf

One of the things I learned, long ago, was to mix sausage with Beef in any recipe with a ton of ingredients and this recipe is no different. I mean, that’s one of the secrets to my Chili recipe and it is phenomenal. There is a 2 to 3 standard ratio that I use being 2 parts sausage to 3 parts beef and you’ll see that reflected in the ingredients. After all, we’re making Grilled Meatloaf, not beef loaf.

If you’ve ever tried my Chili recipe, you might notice that the ingredients are very similar to this recipe, too. I’ve simplified each recipe with the addition of taco seasoning but there are also a few other herbs and spices to fine tune it to the point to where they’re distinguished. Though, some things just shouldn’t change.

Chopped and sauteed onions in a large pan on the stove top.

Raw or Cooked Onions

Technically, once the Grilled Meatloaf is cooked, the onions are cooked as well but they usually go into the meat mix raw. Barf! I don’t know what it is about raw onions, in this recipe, but I can’t stand them cooked that way in meatloaf or on pizza. This is crazy to say because I love onions. In fact I’m a huge fan but, for some reason, I just can’t stomach them in a meatloaf recipe. That’s why I recommend sauteing them first. It’s just a personal preference but I find that there is a much more enjoyable flavor and texture, doing it this way, too but whether you choose to do it this way will be up to you.

Raw Meatloaf, all mixed, shaped and uncooked in a cake pan.

Mixing the Meatloaf Ingredients

There’s really nothing special you have to do to mix the ingredients correctly. Other than the sauteing of the chopped onion, that I’m recommending, all you have to do is mix everything together into one big mush, then shape into a loaf on a baking tray or sheet.

You may find that the meat mix is very wet and you might be tempted to add more bread crumbs but this is folly. In order to maintain moisture, the meat loaf must be like this. A dried out Meatloaf is just as bad as any dried out or over cooked Roasted Turkey!

Grilled and glazed Meatloaf in the roasting pan on the grill.

How to Grill Meatloaf

Grilling Meatloaf really isn’t much different than baking it in the oven. You need to establish a 350° Fahrenheit temp, with the lid down, and cook over indirect heat. The other difference is, just rotating the pan half way through cooking and I demonstrate everything you need to know in the video tutorial.

Because I use a propane grill, it’s easy to focus my heat from 1 out of the 3 burners by turning the front burner on only, then cooking the meatloaf over indirect heat over the other two burners, not lit. The only thing I might recommend, if you’r using gas too, is adding some chips to the lit burner to get the smoke flavor affect going. That’s the only thing I wish I did differently in the video, just to add more smoke flavor. If you’re using charcoal or smoker anyway, you’re already set!

Fully Grilled Meatloaf, cooked and cooling down on a cutting board for slicing.

Grilling Meatloaf Ingredients:

1.5 lbs Hamburger
1 lbs Pork Sausage, breakfast
1 Onion, chopped and sauteed in Olive oil and salted
1 pkg Taco Seasoning, original (2 oz )
1 tbsp Adobo Sauce, from Chipotle Peppers
1 15 oz can Diced Tomatoes
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Mexican Oregano
1 tsp Coriander
1 tbsp Worcestorshire Sauce
1 cup Bread Crumbs
2 Egg
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
5 Cloves Garlic, chopped

Hoisin Sauce for Glaze

Mix all of the ingredients together and shape the meat into a loaf in a cake pan. Grill or bake at 350° Fahrenheit, 45 minutes, add glaze and bake at 400° Fahrenheit for 15 more minutes. If you want to see how I make a Mushroom and Swiss with Leftover Meatloaf, CLICK HERE!

Grille Meatloaf video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet

Garlic Crusted Rack of Lamb

The Best Rack of Lamb

This Garlic Crusted Rack of Lamb is really amazing. The “ooh and ah” effect is perfect and the taste of each bite is incredible. In my opinion, this recipe should go down in history as a holiday favorite for everyone, because it’s simply that good. I’ve had Lamb in Indian Restaurants, Steak Houses and homemade Mutton Stew, when I lived on the Reservation. But I can tell you, with this recipe, that it is hands down the best and you really couldn’t ask for a better tasting Rack of Lamb.

How I make this Rack of Lamb

I’ve designed this recipe with the best of two worlds, combining both the Garlic and Rosemary recipe with a Honey Dijon Mustard Glaze with a hint of Horseradish. This way you’ve through and through flavor that penetrates the lamb after the sear as it roasts in the oven. Believe it or not, total prep and cook time only takes 15 to 20 minutes and this dish can be served for Christmas, Easter or any run of the week dinner. Just be sure, if it’s date night, that you make him or her think you slaved for hours on this dish so that you’re truly appreciated.

Be sure to check out my other Lamb recipes; Lamb Chops & my Mint Panko Rack of Lamb. Both recipes are, as always, incredible.

Garlic Crusted Rack of Lamb Ingredients:

1 Rack of Lamb, 2 to 3 lbs
Kosher Salt and Pepper on all sides of the lamb
2 tbsp of Butter, for searing

Marinade Mix
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp Horseradish

Topping
4 Garlic Cloves, sliced
2 stems of fresh Rosemary leaves

Sear with butter over medium heat for approximately 2 minutes on each side of the rack of lamb. Add and brush the Honey Dijon Mustard marinade mix on the top of the lamb meat, then add the Garlic and Rosemary leaves. Bake at 450 degrees f. for 10 minutes and serve this Garlic Crusted Rack of Lamb with your favorite sides.

Meat, Cheese and Crackers

As you may or may not know, my family and I celebrated my wife’s Birthday this last weekend. I received such a good response from some of you on Facebook, wishing my wife a Happy Birthday, that I decided to share one of the things I did for her. And since it pertains to food I thought you might enjoy this.

As you can see in the photo above, I’ve got 2 plates covered with Cured Meats, Crackers and Cheese. Which in most places around the world, it can really eat a hole in your wallet. I mean, it’s no secret that cured meats and cheese can be very pricey. Especially if you start getting exotic. Where I live, for example, I can buy 4 oz. of Prosciutto for about $10 bucks. But, that’s virtually $40 dollars a pound! Are you kidding me?

So am I telling you that’s what I spent for each one of these cured meats? No, I’m not and I didn’t even come close to that kind of expense. The Great thing about food is nobody wants it to go to waste. So if you hit the markets when they’re in rotation, you’re going to save your self a ton of money.

Another example, in the above photo I have two different Salami’s; Genoa and Boars Head Black Pepper Salami. Both are a half pound each and were marked down 50%. The Prosciutto was only 2 dollars for 3 oz. But at full price, on any other day, I would’ve spent $20 bucks just for what you see on the plate and when it was all said and done, I walked out the door paying only 1/3 that price.

Now when it comes to these Cheese’s the price continues to soar. That is, unless you can pick these up on rotation too, and you can. The funny thing about cheese, however, is you can’t really tell when it goes bad because it stinks when you buy it. So you’re completely at the mercy of the attendants, swapping out the prices to keep up with the expiration dates.

Between these five cheese’s alone one could spend $40 to $50 dollars all together. Some of these slices normally range between $8 and $13 bucks a piece. There’s a Fromager D’affinois Cheese that is very mild and Creamy(top left), a Port Salute(Orange Label) that is mild and creamy as well just a slighly different taste. The Blue Cheese is obvious, you either like it or you don’t. The English White Stilton with Blueberry interesting because it’s very sweet and similar to the taste of cheese cake. And last but not least, the Jarlsberg lite, which is just a fancy way of saying “Deli Swiss”. And if you’re wondering what’s in the middle, those are my Marinated and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes!

So the night before my wife’s Birthday, we started celebrating each others company with the peace and quiet of the house(after we put the kids to bed), the widescreen with Netflix, a cheap box of wine and some very expensive Meats and Cheese’s that I bought for practically nothing. And just so you know, I’m not a cheap bastard, I just know how to live and moments like these are priceless! 😉