Smoked meatloaf in a bacon weave · 3.3 lb / 1.5 kg · Insulated cabinet
Smoked meatloaf in a bacon weave
A 1.5 kg free-form meatloaf wrapped in a bacon lattice, smoked at 120°C over hickory for two and three-quarter hours to 71°C. No loaf pan, no ketchup lake, and it slices clean at room temperature.
- Cook date24 Sep 2026
- Published29 Sep 2026
- Raw weight3.3 lb / 1.5 kg
- WoodHickory
- CookerInsulated cabinet
Cook timeline
- 16:00 Loaf on a rack over a drip tray, bacon seam down Formed free-hand into a 30 x 12 x 8 cm log, chilled 1 hour before weaving Pit120°C Internal6°C +0m
- 16:40 Nothing done The bacon has begun to render and the seam has fused shut Pit120°C Internal42°C +40m
- 17:15 Brushed the top with a thin glaze Tomato, vinegar, brown sugar — thin, so it does not burn over the next 90 minutes Pit121°C Internal58°C +1h15
- 18:00 Glazed again Two glazes, 45 minutes apart, and no more Pit121°C Internal66°C +2h
- 18:45 Pulled at 71°C, rested 20 minutes before slicing Ground meat is safe at 71°C; taking it further only squeezes it dry Pit122°C Internal71°C +2h45
The mix, and the one rule about it
One kilogram of ground beef at 18% fat, 300 g of ground pork, and 200 g of soaked breadcrumbs squeezed dry. The breadcrumbs are not filler, they are the binder that keeps the slice together — take them out and you get a crumbly loaf.
Everything must be cold when it is mixed, and it must be mixed with a light hand. Overworking ground meat makes it springy and dense, which is right for a sausage and wrong for a meatloaf. Fifteen seconds with a fork, not three minutes with a mixer.
| Component | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ground beef, 18% fat | 1.0 kg | Chuck is the right choice |
| Ground pork | 300 g | Adds fat and lightness |
| Breadcrumbs, soaked and squeezed | 200 g | From 150 g dry |
| Onion and pepper, diced small | 200 g | Sweated first, cooled |
| Egg | 2 | Binder |
| Salt, pepper, Worcestershire | 12 g, 3 g, 2 tbsp | 1% salt by total weight |
The bacon weave, in five minutes
Six strips one way, six strips the other, woven over-under. It takes five minutes and it does two jobs: it holds the loaf together through a two-and-three-quarter-hour cook, and it becomes a crisp, seasoned crust that the meat underneath adopts.
Form the loaf first, chill it for an hour so it holds its shape, then lay the weave on a sheet of parchment, set the loaf on top and pull the parchment over to flip the whole thing. Bacon seam goes down so it fuses to the rack side, and the neat side is on top.
- 12 rashers of thin-cut streaky bacon, 6 x 6
- Form and chill the loaf for 1 hour before weaving
- Flip onto the weave using parchment, seam side down
- Free-form on a rack over a drip tray — never in a loaf pan
Why a loaf pan ruins it
A loaf pan holds every drop of fat the meat gives off, and the loaf simmers in it for ninety minutes. The sides go grey and soft, the bottom third turns to a pâté texture, and the whole thing cannot be sliced hot without collapsing.
On a rack over a drip tray the fat escapes. This cook produced 180 ml of fat and juice from a 1.5 kg loaf. The sides set firm against the moving air and the slice holds together at 2 cm.
| Measure | Loaf pan | Rack over drip tray |
|---|---|---|
| Fat drained | 0 ml | 180 ml |
| Side texture | Soft, grey, steamed | Firm, set |
| Bottom third | Pâté-like | Same as the rest |
| Slice at 2 cm, hot | Falls apart | Holds |
Glaze, resting and serving
Two thin glazes, forty-five minutes apart, starting at minute seventy-five. Any earlier and the sugar burns before the loaf is half done; any thicker and it slides off onto the drip tray. Tomato paste, cider vinegar, brown sugar, a shake of chilli.
Rest twenty minutes before slicing, and slice at 2 cm across the loaf, not lengthwise. Meatloaf sandwiches are the reason to make a second one; sliced at 2 cm and chilled, it holds together in bread without a binder.
- Two thin glazes at 75 and 120 minutes
- Rest 20 minutes; slice 2 cm across the loaf
- Excellent cold the next day in a sandwich with mustard and pickles
- Freezes well in slices; reheat covered at 150°C for 20 minutes
Cross-section notes
Ground beef has no collagen and no structure, so the cook is about holding moisture and getting the outside set. A 1.5 kg loaf in a bacon weave takes two and three-quarter hours at 120°C to 71°C. The cross-section shows a 3 mm crust, a 4 mm bacon layer fused to it, and a uniform interior with the onion and pepper visible as distinct flecks.
- Stall
- 0°C
- Wrap method
- No wrap (bare bark)
- Wrapped at
- never wrapped
- Pulled at
- 71°C
- Rest
- 20m
- Score
- 4.3/5
Verdict: A loaf pan traps the fat and steams the meatloaf. Smoked free-form in a weave, the fat drains, the bacon crisps and the whole thing slices without falling apart — and it takes the same ninety minutes of attention as an oven version.
Adjacent entries
13 Aug 2026
Bone-in pork butt
Apple
Bullet water smoker
9.0 lb / 4.1 kg
Bone slid out clean, bark stayed crisp through the wrap4.7/5
15 Sep 2026
Two spare racks, membrane on and off
Hickory
Insulated cabinet
9.3 lb / 4.2 kg (2 x 2.1 kg)
Identical texture; the membrane rack was 6% heavier and saltier outside4.4/5
