Smoked Meatloaf with Poblano and Cheese Stuffing

Who doesn’t love cheese? Stuffed into a pepper, even better. What about stuffing that cheese-filled pepper into a flavor-packed meatloaf and smoking it? Epic!

My childhood was traumatized by flavorless, ketchup-covered, oven-baked loaves of meat and breadcrumbs. So after a few decades of banning meatloaf, I decided to face that food aversion head-on and create my own recipe built on my love of BBQ and ‘Texican’ flavors

With ingredients like green chilis, bourbon, and your favorite BBQ rub as flavor adders, it’s bound to be an instant hit.

Smoked Meatloaf with Cheese and Poblano Stuffing

Ingredients you’ll need

• Ground beef – You can use all ground beef or do half beef and half pork. 
• Chorizo – I only used a small amount of chorizo because it has a very high-fat content and can release a lot of liquid.
• Green chilis – I used a can of diced chilis.
• Bourbon – any bourbon works great here, and if you don’t want to use it, you can sub in more Worcestershire.
• BBQ rub – I used Sucklebuster’s 1836 Beef Rub. Any beef or all-purpose rub will work fine.
• Poblano peppers – Poblanos can vary in spice level. I always take a little nibble off when I slice off the cap to see what I’m working with. This can work with larger Anaheim peppers or even Hatch Green Chilis when they’re in season.
• Aromatics – onion and garlic.
• Binders – egg and breadcrumbs.
• Cheese – Oaxco is my top choice for melting cheese, especially when working with Mexican-inspired flavors. Pepper Jack also works well. Just don’t use pre-shredded, as the coating they use can prevent maximum meltage.
• Red enchilada sauce – Of course, you can use a homemade enchilada sauce, but I just like to pick up a good quality jar to save some time. A mild hot sauce could also work.

Equipment you’ll need

• Smoker
• Bowl
• Loaf pan – standard size.
• Plastic or saran wrap
• Grill pan – or wire rack. 

How to make Smoked Poblano Stuffed Meatloaf

1. Prep the meat

In a large bowl, gently combine just the beef and chorizo. That way, you can make sure the meat is fully incorporated with no large pieces that aren’t mixed well.

Once the meat is fully mixed, add in all other ingredients. Combine everything gently, you don’t want to overwork the mixture.

I find using my hands the best utensil for mixing the meatloaf.

2. Prep the stuffing

Either shred or slice your cheese into sticks.

Slice off the cap/stem of the poblano peppers and remove seeds. Depending on the level of spice you like, you can also scrape out the membranes to bring down the heat.

Put the wide ends of the poblanos together and set them into the loaf pan to measure. You want at least 1″ of space on each end, so if the poblanos are too long, trim off some of the ends as well. 

Stuff the cheese into both poblanos and get them as full as you can.

3. Put it together

Line your loaf pan with plastic/saran wrap. Make sure there are several inches of overhang on all sides, that way, once you have your meatloaf in the pan, you can pull the plastic wrap over to cover for refrigeration.

Take about 2/3 of your meatloaf mixture and place it in the loaf pan. Gently pat the mixture up all sides of the pan to the very top, and make sure the bottom is evenly distributed.

Place your poblanos into the center of the meatloaf mixture, with the cut ends together in the middle. Make sure they are pressed together and you have at least 1″ of space at either end.

Take the remaining meatloaf mixture and pat it down on top of the poblanos to create a fully sealed loaf.

Make sure there is at least half an inch of meat on top of the peppers and that they are no longer visible. 

Once your loaf is fully assembled, pull the wrap overhang over the meatloaf, and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, up to 4.

DO NOT skip the refrigeration step. It’s essential to hold the loaf together during the long smoke session.

If you’re short on time, just pop the loaf in the freezer for half an hour to 45 minutes so it firms up enough to hold. 

4. Fire up the smoker

Fire up your smoker to 250°F and let that smoke roll.

This recipe is best smoked with a hardwood like mesquite, hickory, or oak.

5. Unboxing

Gently turn the meatloaf out onto your greased wire rack or perforated grill pan.

Lift off the pan.

Remove the plastic wrap.

6. Smoking

Place the rack on the smoker, close the lid, and leave the loaf alone for about 45 minutes until it starts to brown.

Take that red enchilada sauce and baste the entire meatloaf, every 45 minutes after that.

Once it hits 165°F internal temp, remove from the smoker and let rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes.

I like to rest for an hour in a ‘keep warm’ setting in my oven to make sure it’s set up nicely.

Slice it up, serve, and watch everyone devour!

Need to exorcise some more memories of bad childhood food?

• Bacon Wrapped Brussel Sprouts
• Smoked Bacon Wrapped Carrots
• Smoked Baked Beans with bacon
• Smoked Devilled Eggs