Hmm, where did I go wrong.

[1chaos52]

Decided to try the smoked meatloaf recipe from this site this weekend, and it failed miserably.

I did all the ingredients exactly as stated in the recipe and smoked it using hickory until the center was 160*. The outer edges were good and tasty, but after about 3/4 inch in it was still gooey and felt like you were eating raw hamburger. I tested the temp in several locations after cutting it an it was reading 160 throughout the middle areas.

Any ideas as to what may have gone wrong?

I will hopefully be able to do my first q-view for the smoke I am doing next weekend. It will be a multiple day smoke as I am doing ribs, pulled pork, beans, chicken drumstick, and ABT's. Now if my girlfriend will just remember to bring the camera home from work...

 

[fritz]

Not sure?....sounds like a thermometer problem....have you tested it's accuracy in boiling water?

 

[smok'n steve]

What Fritz said, but for kicks, what was the size of your loaf? I like to make mine more like brisket shape instead of bread shape. Like 1.5" thick * 9" long * 5" wide

 

[ddave]

What Fritz said and what Steve said.

Dave

 

[funh2o]

Did you shape it in a bread pan or spread it out thinner like it says in the recipe?

Just wondering

Steve

 

[erain]

i got to agree with fritz, 165 is fully cooked and any gooiness(i think that a word)would indicate a not done condition in my opinion. i would ck stats. i test mine in water on stove with candy thermometer.

 

[1chaos52]

Tested my thermometers about 2 weeks ago so think they are ok. I also formed the meatloaf at about 1.5 inch thick. I will re-test the thermometers before next weeks smoke since that one I am feeding several friends and family.

 

[richtee]

Also...what was the binder? Breadcrumbs, etc? At the low temps of smoking, not as much moisture is going to be driven off from a moist binder like breadcrumbs or crackers. Also the starch may tend to glutinize, giving a paste-like consistancy.

 

[ddave]

There are a couple of variations of the meatloaf recipe that I have found around the site. There is the main one from the sidebar:

http://www.smoking-meat.com/meat-loaf-recipe.html

and then there is this one from the Feb. 2008 newsletter.

http://www.smoking-meat.com/february...foil-pans.html

This second one mentions keeping the heat around 250 for the first hour then letting it creep up to 325 to 350 for the rest of the time. This is the way I have done mine although I usually moved it to my gas grill because my smoker was not cooperating. At any rate, the higher heat may help cure the problem and make the meatloaves nice and firm in the middle.

Hope this helps.

Dave

 

[chargrilled]

If the loaf isnt packed tight you could get false readings.

 

[1chaos52]

Well, thanks for all of the suggestions. It felt awful having to throw all of that meat out as I did not have the energy to keep going with it. I will, however, be trying it again in the future and hopefully with better results. Now I am focusing on the big smoking session for this weekend, or more like the multiple smoking sessions.

 

[jaynik]

check that the probe doesn't "heat" while on the way from the exterior to the interior of the loaf. If you check too quickly, it could read high.

Oh yeah. Just finish it in the oven instead of throwing it away!