Meatloaf

Tonight, I'm making my friend Joe's favorite food--MEATLOAF. Joe has spent the entire day "playing army" whilst doing a field training exercise known as "FTX" in the rain and chilly weather. Needless to say, when Joe told me he was coming back, I thought, "What better comfort food is there to serve a hard working army man?" After much meditation, I heard the gods say, "MEATLOAF."

So, here is the best recipe for the best meatloaf I've ever made. I've tried tons--many from the Food Network (of which cooks, I won't mention here) and many that have been given to me from family and friends. Thus, when I came across the below entry, I was intrigued--spicy pork sausage and ground chuck versus regular old 3 pounds of beef? FASCINATING! This combination is both flavorful and not too far from your original beef-based meatloaf recipe.

For tonight's recipe, I have used 1.5 pounds of spicy turkey meat (of which you can substitute spicy pork), and 3/4 of a pound of ground chuck.

Finally, the original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of fresh chopped parsley. Unfortunately, I always forget to buy this item when making meatloaf. Fortunately, the output is still flavorful and delicious. Thanks again, as always to Elise Bauer and her meatloaf recipe on Simply Recipes. Have I mentioned that I'm possibly Elise's biggest fan?

Also, two very useful notes from my friend Joe: one, when we were sauteing the vegetables, Joe asked if we had put any butter in our vegetables.  Actually, I had.  The recipe below calls for 2 tablespoons of butter when sauteing the vegetables, but after 5-7 minutes, the vegetables needed more lubrication and were starting to blacken, not brown (this occurred possibly because I was using a gas stove, which, in all cases, is always hotter than an electric stove).  Finally, once we started combining these sauteed vegetables with the other ingredients, Joe had the brilliant idea of using a potato masher.  This addition was really useful--the mixture was consistently combined (which you will see in the photos below).

Classic Meatloaf Recipe

Elise notes that many meatloaf recipes call for ground veal or pork in addition to ground beef.  Elise continues that "You might want to experiment with a third each of beef, pork, and veal."  However, I would like to note that ground turkey is an equally good option here, so please try the above combinations with turkey.  You won't be disappointed.  Furthermore, if you don't have access to spicy ground pork or Italian sausage (which, for those of us who shop at Walmart, it is indeed hard to fine), add "a pinch of fennel seeds and a half teaspoon of hot sauce to regular ground pork."


Preparation time: 20-30 minutes to prep, 1 hour to cook (possibly 50 minutes in a gas stove)
Ingredients

* 1 cup of finely chopped onion
* 1 celery rib, chopped fine
* 1 Tbsp minced garlic (or, 5 small-medium size cloves)
* 1 carrot, chopped fine
* 1/2 cup of finely chopped scallions (can substitute onion)
* 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (you may need more when using the butter to saute the vegetables)
* 2 teaspoon salt (use 1 1/2 teaspoons if using Italian sausage)
* 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
* 2 tsp Worscestershire sauce
* 2/3 cup ketchup
* 1 1/2 pounds of ground chuck
* 3/4 pound of spicy ground pork sausage or Italian sausage (a mix of sweet and hot if you are using links); again, ground turkey, or regular pork sausage works well here (just add the above spices to get the same effect)
* 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
* 2 large eggs, beaten slightly
* 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 In a large heavy skillet saute onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and scallions/onions in 2 tablespoons of butter (you may need to add more halfway through), over medium heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Cover (or not) the skillet and stir occassionally until the carrots are tender, about 5 more minutes. Stir in salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/3 a cup of ketchup. Cook for 1 more minute, or until carrots are tender.


3 In a large bowl, combine the meats, eggs, vegetables, bread crumbs, and parsley using either your hand, or a potato masher. Form into a loaf and put into a rectangular baking pan with 2-inch high sides; a traditional loaf pan works well for this process. Cover the loaf with remaining ketchup & spread with a culinary brush.


4 Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour, or 50 minutes in a gas stove.

Serves 4 to 6, with plenty for leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches.