For His Master's Veneration: Consider the Meatloaf

Lets consider the classic meat loaf. Born out of necessity, it's middle name should be stretch! It stretches the budget – ground beef is much cheaper that roast. It stretches the amount of food – a pound of meet can be padded and feed a whole family for at least two meals. It stretches the imagination – once you know the basics, you can customize it with as many things you can think of!

American meatloaf has its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since colonial times.

Learn the basics first!
The most important elements to consider when learning how to make meatloaf is texture and moisture.

The Best Meatloaf is 75% Beef and 25% Pork

We tried a recipe with a classic "meatloaf blend" you might see prepackaged at grocery stores: beef, pork, and veal. The veal added a nice amount of moisture to the loaf, but not a lot of flavor, and the texture veered towards something more gelatinous, almost like paté.

Bacon can add a nice touch but be careful to not overwhelm and become too rich. After making meat-loafs for nearly half a century, slave recommends a blend of 75% beef and 25% pork. When using this 3 :1 ratio, most often preferred is using a loose sausage for the 1 part of pork.

And one more note on the meat: choose the highest-quality ground beef but not extra lean! It will make all the difference in your loaf.

Bread for moisture that binds meatloaf

Bread or breadcrumbs or even oats or rice do not act as filler—they are crucial in determining the texture of the loaf. They help soak up and retain some of the juices from the meat and help to break up the density of the loaf.

A panade is recommend

Panade is a paste made from wet bread. It’s torn up fresh bread soaked in milk, (or better – beef broth) intended to add moisture to a meatloaf and help bind it together.

Egg/Dairy Additions: Eggs help meatloaf bind together much better. Never use more than 1 egg per pound of meat. Eggs and milk also help keep the proteins in the meatloaf from shrinking and drying out, resulting in a juicier meatloaf.

Aromatics:

It's pretty universally agreed upon that every meatloaf needs onion. The onion-garlic-celery combination seemed like a must.
Another super important discovery: pre-cooked aromatics are so much better than raw. At the least, grate the onion and garlic, this insures good texture. You don't want hunks of vegetables falling out of the slices.
We went for finely chopped (use a food processor to make it easy!) sauteed vegetables, which removes extra moisture and adds more caramelized sweetness.

Topping: The last step in a great meatloaf is a topping; it keeps it moist and adds flavor and dimension. Some people love ketchup, others prefer BBQ sauce, mustard, even mashed potatoes or a bacon wrap. You could add some flavor boosters like chili sauce, yellow mustard, brown sugar, maple syrup, spices, etc. It just depends on your personal taste! After you mix up your glaze, brush or spoon it onto the meatloaf about 15 minutes before it’s done baking.

Extra Ingredients Need Not Apply

When it comes to add-in ingredients, we decided less is definitely more. We tried versions with prunes, apricots, allspice, parsley, thyme, tomato juice, cider vinegar, chili sauce, soy sauce—this is meatloaf, people! It should taste like meat and not much else! A simple umami boost from Worcestershire sauce and sweet and tangy ketchup is all you really need.

Preparing the loaf:

Over mixing will cause your meatloaf to become dense making it seem tough and not tender. As with most ground beef recipes (including patties or meatballs), the beef and add-ins should be mixed just until combined for a tender result. Slave likes to use a short wooden spoon to mix everything together. Everything gets mixed together in the same bowl as the soaked bread to minimize clean up.

Bake Your Meatloaf in the open

The last step in ensuring the perfect loaf is thinking about how to cook it. We had much better results with a hand-formed loaf baked in a shallow baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. The extra exposed surface area allows the steam to escape and the exterior to get caramelized. And the classic ketchup glaze gives our loaf the perfect finishing touch.

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Leftover meatloaf will last about four days in the fridge. If you make a large loaf, slice it up and throw in the freezer! Meatloaf holds up very well in the freezer.

Meatloaf can dry out when reheated. If you’ve frozen your meatloaf, thaw it first. To reheat for sandwiches, slice the meatloaf, add a bit of oil to a skillet and fry until the internal temperature is 165° F. It should get a little crispy and browned on the outside and that is a very, very delicious thing.
To reheat in the oven, preheat the oven to 350° F. Slice the meatloaf and place in a baking dish. Add a small amount of water to the dish and cover with foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the internal temp is 165° F.

Here are some ideas of how to use up left-over meat loaf inspired by an article on Food Network web site:

Wraps:

Cube up the cold meatloaf .

Mix low fat mayonnaise with some lot fat cream cheese and a touch of mustard.

Stir this into a slaw mix.

Spoon onto a tortilla. Add the meat cubes and sprinkle with dried cranberries.

Roll up and serve for a lunch or brunch.

Skillet Hash with a Fried Egg

Saute crumbled meatloaf with plenty of diced onions, bell peppers and potatoes. Serve with a fried egg on top and you've got a sizzling breakfast skillet to start the day off right.

Stuffed Peppers

Soften cored bell peppers in the microwave, then load them up with diced meatloaf, tomato sauce, shredded pepper Jack, and cooked rice. Top with more cheese and bake uncovered until warmed through and melty.

Fried Rice

Put down the takeout menu and whip up this crowd-pleaser at home with diced vegetables, broken-up meatloaf, a little egg and soy, plus, of course, leftover cooked rice.

Minestrone Soup

Upgrade a pot of classic minestrone with chunks of meatloaf and a sprinkle of pecorino. Think of them as asymmetrical meatballs.

Shepherd's Pie

Sub meatloaf for leftover lamb in this comfort food classic: To a combo of sauteed onions, garlic, carrots and peas (or almost any leftover vegetables), add crumbled meatloaf and tomato paste. Loosen it up with a little broth and simmer before transferring to ramekins or a casserole dish. A layer of creamy mashed potatoes is the finishing touch. Bake until piping hot.

Student Spaghetti

Ingredients:

2 slices meatloaf cut into cubes

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 Tbs corn starch

1 tsp Italian seasonings

1 pkg ramen noodles (doesn't matter what flavor – don't use the sauce)

Parmesan cheese for topping.

Directions:

Cut up the meatloaf

Spoon the corn starch into a small bowl and drain the can of stewed tomatoes into it.

Stir it well and add to sauce pan over medium heat.

Stir as this cooks and thickens and add the meat. Stir in the seasonings.

Taste this. You may want to add your favorite hot sauce here, but use sparingly.

Follow package directions on the noodles but DO NOT use the sauce packet.

When noodles are done serve with the meat sauce on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you wish.

Grilled Cheese

Tuck a slice of meatloaf between your American singles and white bread for a grilled cheese sandwich with a beefy bite pretty similar to that of a patty melt.

Enhanced BoyRDee

Mix pieces of meatloaf into a can of beefaroni when warming.

Mac & Cheese Bake

Stir warmed up pieces into a mac & cheese dinner.

Loafin Cowboy

Mix pieces into a can of park & beans when heating or bake as a casserole.

Here is a basic recipe to start off with:

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground beef

1 lbs pork sausage

2 eggs

1 yellow onion-garlic-celery

4 cloves garlic

5 slices of honey wheat bread

½ cup beef broth

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Line a baking pan with foil and spray. Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl tear up the pieces of bread. Grate the onion and garlic into that. Pour in the ½ cup broth along with the eggs and let sit for 15 minutes. You want all that moisture to soak into the bread.

When the time is up and oven is heated, mix the hamburger and pork into the bowl of soaked bread. Using a short wooden spoon stir this together until just mixed,--do not over work.

Turn this into the baking pan and shape to form a loaf with open sides.

Bake meatloaf for about 1 hour and a half. Check with a meat thermometer to read 160 degrees.

IMPORTANT: let the loaf sit in the pan for at least 10 minutes!

I usually suggest that meat or even muffins should sit while you do the microwave vegetables. Get into that habit and your food should not crumble!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 262, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 112mg, Sodium: 640mg, Potassium: 599mg, Carbohydrates: 17g, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g, Protein: 28g,