Cherry-Smoked Italian Meatloaf with Melty Mozzarella

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

An Italian meatloaf that spends three low-and-slow hours over cherry wood, so every slice tastes faintly of smoke before you even get to the molten mozzarella center. Beef and Italian sausage keep it juicy, a milk-soaked panko panade keeps it tender, and a marinara glaze brushed on at the end sets into a sweet-savory lacquer. Very little work, mostly waiting.

Ingredients

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 lb ground beef (80/20)
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 6 oz low-moisture mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch sticks

• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

Instructions

1. Set up your smoker for indirect cooking at 250°F (120°C) and add 2 to 3 chunks of cherry wood. While it comes up to temperature, stir the panko and milk together in a large bowl and let sit 5 minutes until the crumbs swell into a paste.
2. Add the ground beef, Italian sausage, eggs, Parmesan, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper to the soaked panko. Mix with your hands just until combined — stop as soon as you no longer see streaks of sausage, or the loaf will turn dense.
3. Tear off a 12 x 16-inch sheet of heavy foil and fold the edges up about an inch all around to make a shallow boat. Press half the meat mixture into a 10 x 4-inch rectangle in the boat, lay the mozzarella sticks down the center leaving a 1-inch border, then top with the remaining meat and seal the edges firmly so no cheese can escape. Smooth the top into a domed loaf.
4. Set the foil boat directly on the smoker grate, close the lid, and smoke at 250°F for 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer in the center of the meat (not the cheese) reads 145°F (63°C). Resist opening the lid before the 90-minute mark.
5. Brush the top and sides with 1/2 cup of the marinara and smoke 25 to 35 minutes more, until the glaze looks tacky and the internal temperature reaches 160°F (71°C).
6. Rest the loaf in its foil boat for 15 minutes before slicing — this lets the cheese set enough to stay put. Warm the remaining marinara and spoon it over thick slices.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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