Meatloaf is like blue jeans. You'll always have your favorite pair and while some are able to be dressed up for a night out, others are the most well worn, comfortable thing on the planet and the perfect comfort after a long day's work. This recipe is a household staple that is great the first night and perfect for sandwiches the next day!
What You Need
Materials:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup dried onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
7 pieces of bacon
plastic storage container
parchment paper
cookie sheet
Instructions
1. Blend Spices: Many meatloaves start out with an onion soup mix for the base (ask your Grandma). We like to start with the seasonings and toss them into our spice grinder and give them a whirl. You can add them as is if you don't have one, but this eliminates any strong flavors and creates a uniform texture and taste throughout the loaf (loaf is such an ugly word isn't it?).
2. Combine: Combine meat, breadcrumbs, egg and spices in a bowl until mixture is smooth and consistent. It should all blend together to make something that almost looks like Pate.
3. Line Container: Line your plastic storage container (or whatever you have that's of the same size) with bacon, barely overlapping each piece.
4. Fill: Place half the meat mixture into the bacon container and press down firmly. This part is important, so make sure there's no air in the container. Dump out onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. One quick flip and it should pop right out! You can add bacon to the ends once it's been turned out if you so desire.
5. Bake: Bake in a 350F degree oven for 30 minutes. Increase temperature to 450F for an additional 15-20 minutes. The smaller size loaves will cook quickly, you're watching for your bacon to be crisp and the internal temperature 170F and remove from oven. If there appears to be too much grease on your cookie sheet during baking (a good amount will come out and that's ok, but if it's more like an ocean instead of a lake...) remove from oven, pour off as best you can and return to oven. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before consuming.
Additional Notes
After you've packed the meat inside the plastic storage container lined with bacon, individual meatloaves can be frozen by simply adding a lid. Let them thaw in the refrigerator the night before and pop them in the oven when you return home from work! No mess, no fuss and it's the ultimate in comfort!
We topped ours with a quick mixture of ketchup, brown sugar, salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce, a splash of white vinegar and mustard powder. Just a dash of this and a dash of that, brush on your finished loaves and devour!
(Images: Sarah Rae Trover)
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I had a really unfortunate experience with meatloaf as a child...but this recipe surfeit of ground meat from my CSA makes me want to give it a try. Does anyone think this would work with ground goat?
Oh WOW. That first picture is extremely compelling.
KillaCook - I say give it a try! Maybe do half of the recipe, or even 1/4th, just in case you still don't like it.
Goat works out just fine, it's taste is slightly different so we might suggest changing up a few of the seasonings in your glazing mixture. Never having tried it, I can't make any suggestions as to what, but it should work out beautifully!
I love this recipe from Gourmet. Prunes seem like a weird ingredient in meat loaf, but they are key! They dissolve into piquant smoky sweetness and really make the dish.
We use a recipe from Silver Palate that has you press the meat flat, cover it with fresh basil and sundried tomatoes, then roll it up like a jelly roll.
Meatloaf has a ton of variations. Some of my favorites include
-salsa over the top of the loaf before it goes into the oven, it might sound odd but it's just a better version of ketchup
-cloves of garlic studding the outside...mmm, roasted garlic
-slices of onion laid underneath the loaf
we learned a few years ago to mound the loaf onto a rimmed cookie sheet instead of putting it into a loaf pan and it comes out soooo much better, less greasy.
my mom always added whole hard-boiled eggs in the middle of her meatloaf...such a delicious surprise when you slice into it!
@borealis87: I hated my mom's meatloaf as a kid for that exact reason.
I like and still do, a uniform meatiness, no carrots, zucchini and egg surprises. I haven't tried it, but if I wanted veggies in there, I think I'd puree some and then add them in.
I haven't made it in a while, but I made a Tuscan meatloaf with a dried mushroom sauce that turned out pretty nicely. That's probably my favorite. I want to try this one. I like the idea of the individual loaves.
i never thought of cooking meatloaf on a baking sheet. i did meat muffins because for the longest time i didn't have a loaf pan.
i'm going to try the meat roll method next time.
I hated meat loaf as a kid but lately I've been making a turkey loaf, replacing the egg with applesauce, and seasoning with sage, thyme, salt and pepper. The flavor is different enough that it doesn't bring back old memories!
I like to pop sweet potatoes into the oven while it's cooking.
My standard recipe these days is Jan Arden's mom's meatloaf recipe. Jann Arden used to have a diner, and it was their featured meatloaf. The "secret" ingredient is Montreal Steak Spice, which is fantastic in meatloaf!
Also, in about 1971, my mother tore a page out of a women's magazine for a recipe using "Kitchen Bouquet". Don't know if it exists anymore, but the meatloaf was superb: there was a sautéed mushroom and fresh breadcrumb layer that was quite delicious.
My grandmother used to make a meatloaf that is rolled like a Swiss roll or buche de noel... in the middle, she would have softly scrambled eggs and petit pois, or some other combination. The trick of course is not to roll it too many times; it should be a fairly narrow log. It is very pretty as buffet or party food.
You had me at bacon...
And yes, loaf is an ugly word. I'm glad im not the only person
I love the look of the meatloaves! So neat and tidy. Thanks for this recipe. Growing up, my mom made meatloaf with eggs and oatmeal (as the binder, in place of bread crumbs), some onion powder, garlic powder, and ketchup. I've always loved it, but this is a much more sophisticated version to me.
mschatelaine's- Can you post the recipe for the Montreal Meatloaf? It sounds great.
@borealis87: I bet that tastes good like but looks and sounds gross.
Love the analogy of meatloaf akin to your favorite jeans-well said!
...that looks tasty. (I've only eaten meatloaf once in my life, it wasn't very nice but I think it was a bad recipe; I'm going to bookmark this one to try...)
I make meatloaf in the slow cooker! It's soo good and doesn't dry out. I may try adding bacon next time!
I made the meatloaf this weekend and it was super tasty. My only issue was getting the bacon cooked through. The meatloaf was on the dry side as a result. Anyone have this problem?
If your meatloaf came out dry, then you might need to take your oven higher to get the bacon cooked. It won't be super duper crispy, but should be free from wibbly bits. You can also reduce the first cooking time/temp before increasing it if you're still having problems!
had similar issues that foodOCD had with this recipe. meatloaf was way too dense, not enough liquid even though we followed the recipe. the flavors were great, but i'll try another recipe next time.
The yummiest meatloaf I've had is also the healthiest -- a turkey meatloaf recipe from Epicurious. So moist and delicious!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Turkey-Meatloaf-107599
I make a weirdo meatloaf. Meatloaf can be made adding everything but the kitchen sink! I add cinnamon, raisin, spicy mustard, some ketchup, egg, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire, onions & I baste it red wine. Should that taste good? Probably not, but it does, indeed!
Wow, this makes me want to make meatloaf! My mom would make it, but I didn't like it so I didn't eat it. She still makes it for my dad and it seems flavourless and dry.
Loaf in this sense is a beautiful word. To loaf around maybe not so much. ;)
My boyfriend's mom makes a similar meatloaf recipe and it's delicious! She mixes ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal (we all feel a little guilty, but it's so delicious), breadcrumbs, dijon, ketchup, parsley, and some other spices, and then covers the entire loaf in bacon. The bacon really makes it delicious!
bassetboxer- Here is the Jan Arden meatloaf recipe--It had me curious too.
http://75gifts.chatelaine.com/english/escape/article.jsp?content=20031027_161733_4388
PS. I know the Arden recipe is for three meatloaves but can anyone please tell us how much 5kg of ground beef is in pounds?
A previous boyfriend once suggested adding about a half inch of broth to the bottom of the pan before baking the meatloaf (not in a loaf pan). This method keeps the meat nice and moist. Because of the sodium content in broth, I eliminate the salt in the recipe. If the broth cooks off, add a little more to the pan.
I find that handling the meat mixture as little as possible makes for a great texture. I'm surprised that mixing the meat to a pate texture is suggested. But I haven't tried it that way and should before judging.
Damn — the tip about lining a container with bacon, packing in the meat mixture and then turning it out is just BRILLIANT! Can't wait until fall when it's cool enough to crank up the oven again.