Ground Beef Texture

[profdadstl]

Hello, this is my first post.  I've had the number one for about 2 months now.  I've had success with smoked salmon, smoked chuck roast, and even a brisket.  Two related items I made turned out disappointing and I'd like some tips.

1. I made meatballs with ground beef, ground sausage, and some parmesan.  They cooked fast, but had a really gummy texture.  It was not appealing.

2. I made a meatloaf of ground beef, pork, onion, garlic, carrots, and parmesan.  This turned out similarly gummy. 

Does anyone know the texture I'm talking about, and how can I avoid it?  It has only occurred with these ground meat items.  I did not overly handle the meat, I mixed briefly by hand.

 

[Lonzinomaker]

My meatloaf has not been "gummy" when done in the #3. Texture has been less dry than oven roasted. Fat is rendered the same.
I use bread crumbs in my recipe and half to 2/3 cheap ground beef with 1/3 to 1/2 ground pork or italian bulk sausage . 

Made some oven roasted meatloaf once with too much crumb and I could call that texture gummy.

 

[LarryD]

What is your recipe for the meatballs and the meatloaf?  Perhaps you're using an ingredient that others don't?

 

[profdadstl]

I think I used
3 lbs ground beef (pretty fatty)
1 lb ground pork
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1/2 cup parmesan
Some salt and pepper.

I put it in a pan with some space around it and cooked it as described in the directions for the smoker.  The fat definitely rendered as it was pooled around the meatloaf after cooking. 

For the meatballs, I don't recall as it was a while ago, but it was beef, sausage, and cheese.  Nothing else save maybe some spices.

 

[old sarge]

First off, welcome to the forum.  Is it possible that the gumminess you are talking about is from too much smoke?  It can produce a sticky, unappealing coating that I refer to as creosote.  If that is the case, reduce the amount of wood you are using.

 

[profdadstl]

That could be it, it did seem to permeate all the way through, perhaps this is because it is ground meat.