What is a Sicilian Meatloaf? Well, it’s also known as a Sicilian Meat Roll. It’s basically a meat loaf, rolled flat, and layered with meat and cheese, rolled back up and grilled. I also topped the meatloaf with more cheese. The amazing thing about grilling meatloaf is how well the porous ground beef sucks in the smoke and adds another layer of flavor to an already robust and nuanced flavor profile.

Skip to Recipe Print Recipe

I’m not the only one making meatloaf on the grill. This one looks spectacular.

Sicilian Meatloaf Ingredients:

2 lb ground meat – I used the meatloaf blend which is 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 ground pork and 1/3 ground veal (This combo makes great meatballs too!)
1/2 tsp crushed oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped (divided)
1/2 cup tomato juice (substitute 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/4 cup water or 1/2 cup BBQ sauce)
2 eggs, cracked and beaten
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
8 thin slices of ham
6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp of your favorite BBQ rub
3 slices of mozzarella cheese sliced corner to corner

How to Prepare Meatloaf for the Grill

Time for some action shots. In a mixing bowl, combine everything in the ingredient list above the ham, except only half the parsley reserving the other half as a garnish later:

And finally work all the ingredients throughout the meat:

This stuff is going to be sticky. Real sticky.

Luckily, Reynolds Wrap came out with their new non stick aluminum foil because I needed it for this cook:

Reynolds Wrap Non Stick Foil — How do you know which side is non stick The foil tells you GrillinFools Images ©

Now it gets interesting

Put a couple sheets of the non stick foil (non-stick side up) on the counter and spread the meat loaf mixture into a rectangle about a half inch thick or so.

It’s OK to go a little thicker, but don’t go thinner:

Next, layer that ham and cheese on the flattened meatloaf, leaving about an inch around the edge:

Here comes the magic of that non-stick aluminum foil.

Lift one side of the foil and begin rolling the meatloaf into a meat roll:

And here it is rolled up:

We could not put this directly on the grill as it is.

See all those cracks and crevices on that rolled up Sicilian meatloaf?

If I leave them there, then that cheese is going to ooze out of those gaps. So time to slap some meatloaf.

Give the Sicilian a good pat down to close those crevices:

Now all it needs is a dusting with your favorite BBQ rub:

It’s at this point that you could wrap the foil around it completely and drop it into the fridge or freezer to save for another day. In this case, we were cooking it right away, so form the foil into a nest around the meat to keep the meat all in one piece.

How to Grill a Sicilian Meatloaf

It’s just about ready for the grill which we are going to set up for two zone grilling with charcoal and smoke wood on one side and the meat on the other.

I used pecan wood. Target temp inside the grill is 300F:

We don’t want the fat to build up in our foil nest, as that will make this into a greasy mess.

Once the Sicilian is on the grill, poke some holes in the foil on either side of the meat with a knife.

Don’t poke the holes before it hits the grill:

Close the lid and let the heat and smoke work their magic.

Forty five minutes in, the Sicilian Meatloaf is browning up nicely:

Uh oh. We’ve got a crack forming:

We’re at 160F degrees internal temperature and here we are ready to add some cheese on top.

We have a little cheese leakage on the side, but not bad. Another benefit of the foil is the cheese stays with the meat rather than falling through the grill grates:

Add the cheese slices along the top:

Once the cheese melts, remove the Sicilian Meatloaf from the grill:

Back inside, give it a sprinkling of the remaining flat leaf parsley:

Time to rest

Allow this to rest for about 10 minutes.

This isn’t about juices redistributing.

It’s about letting the cheese cool a bit so it doesn’t run out all over your cutting board.

Now how does the inside look?

Check out the smoke ring!

Sicilian Meatloaf Summary

I don’t know what was better. Sampling it right off the cutting board or the next day when I made a meatloaf sandwich for lunch. As a meatloaf connoisseur this is one of the best I’ve ever had. It’s a great meatloaf to begin with and then the added ham, cheese and of course smoke take it to another level of meatloavery (Dad came up with that one!).

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.

Reynolds Wrap compensated me to be featured in this post, but as you know, I don’t promote anything I don’t absolutely believe in, and their non stick foil is legit and makes this recipe easier to prepare and clean up.

Also, if you could leave us a great review with lots of stars that would be most appreciated!

Additionally, you can follow us on our GrillinFools Facebook page, Instagram, and YouTube feeds

Recipe Card

Enlarged Smoked Sicilian Meatloaf 7 | GrillinFools — GrillinFools Images ©

Print Recipe

4 from 1 vote

Sicilian Meatloaf

Meatloaf kicked up with ham, cheese and finally some sultry smoke as it is cooked on the grill. This isn't your grandmothers meatloaf. It's Sicilian Meatloaf

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 30

Course: Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: American, American Fare, Barbecue, BBQ, Grilling, North American, Traditional American

Keyword: Aluminum Foil, Charcoal, Charcoal Grill, Cheese, Cheese Filling, Foil, Grilled Meat Loaf, Grilled Meatloaf, Ham Recipe, Heavy Duty Foil, Indirect Grilling, Lump Charcoal, Meat Loaf, Meat Roll, Meatloaf, Meatloaf Recipe, Reynolds Wrap, Sicilian Meat Loaf, Sicilian Meat Roll, Sicilian Meatloaf, Smoked Meat Loaf, Smoked Meatloaf, Two Zone Grilling

Servings: People

Equipment

Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil

Ingredients

2 lb ground meat (I used the meatloaf blend which is 1/3 ground beef 1/3 ground pork and 1/3 ground veal. This combo makes great meatballs too!)
½ tsp crushed oregano
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic minced
1 shallot minced
½ cup tomato juice (substitute 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/4 cup water or 1/2 cup BBQ sauce)
2 egg cracked and beaten
¾ cup Italian bread crumbs
8 slice ham thinly sliced
6 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
1 tbsp your favorite BBQ rub
3 slices mozzarella cheese sliced corner to corner

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients above the ham in a mixing bowl and mix them throughout the meat
Lay down two sheets of Reynolds Wrap Non-Stick Aluminum foil (non-stick side up) and spread the meatloaf across the foil into a rectangle
Layer the ham and then the cheese onto the flattened meatloaf
Lifting the side of the aluminum foil, roll the meat back onto itself forming it into a meat roll
Form the aluminum foil into a nest around the Sicilian meatloaf and go prepare the grill
Set up for two zone or indirect grilling which means coals and smoke wood on one side and the meat on the other
Target temp inside the grill is 300
Smoke until the Sicilian meatloaf reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees and top with the sliced cheese
Once the cheese has melted, remove the meatloaf from the grill and allow to rest for about 10 minutes so the cheese stays in place
Top with a sprinkle of the fresh herbs
Slice and serve

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

See Full Bio