Smoked meatloaf

I use a pretty basic meatloaf recipe: ground beef; egg; Italian bread, cubed, and soaked in milk; diced parsley, and healthy sprinkle of Sound Q steak rub; and salt.

Dice up a half onion. Toss in some herbs & spices that were laying around. And Alton Brown's favorite addition, some crushed BBQ flavor potato chips.

Dumped the meat mixture onto a flat surface, and hand molded it into an even loaf. Placed the loaf onto a raised baking/cooling rack with feet, with a drip tray a couple inches underneath. Note that we do not leave the loaf in an enclosed (bread) pan, but we want it fully exposed on all sides, and the bottom free floating on a thin baking rack to allow the drippings to exit the meatloaf.

Then onto the smoker at low temp (180) with high smoke, for about an hour. Make sure that the smoke is not blocked from enveloping the loaf. Kicked the temp up to 225 to 250, until internal temp of the meat was around 140.

Figured it had enough smoke, so time to glaze. Used Alton Brown's glaze, which is a half cup of ketchup, a spoon of cumin, some Rendevouz seasoning, with a healthy dash of Worcestershire and a dash of hot sauce.

Smoked at 250 until internal temp was 160-ish. (Ground meats need to hit at least 160 for safety, since bacteria is mixed through; unlike steaks where the bacteria is only on the surface.)

We like to place a slice of meatloaf on tasty bread with melted cheddar for a great sandwich.