Smoked Meatloaf

So I was back in Maryland for my dad's birthday this weekend, and knowing his food likes (meat & potatoes, comfort food) I decided to make a meatloaf for him that we could cook together on his smoker. I found instructions and recipe that fit Dad's tastes (no chunks of onions or other "fancy stuff") and Mom was more than happy to go to the store with me to get the ingredients.

And holy cow, is this thing ever scrump-dilly-icious. I glazed half with the recipe's "meatloaf sauce" and left the other side plain (far left photo - the left side has sauce), but the trademark pink smoke ring that's visible in smoked meats was present throughout the entire meatloaf (middle and right photos)

Granted, it took four hours to cook, and smoking meats means you have to pay closer attention to stoking the coals and keeping the temperature constant, but man oh man, the taste. Slightly sweet, a little smoky (the recipe says to go easy on the smoke wood, since ground meat absorbs smoke more than whole cuts of meat), tender and juicy. And since we also smoked thick pork chops and I roasted a pork shoulder that turned into pulled pork sandwiches (sorry, no pix), Mom gave me the rest of the meatloaf to take home. Best carry-on luggage EVER. Dinner is gonna be good tonight . . .