I was never a big meatloaf fan as a kid (goes for a lot of stuff on here...), but was definitely intrigued by this take on it. (Have a look if you don't mind really gratuitous profanity. If you do, no worries; key takeaways below.) Why go off a recipe when you have license to combine your choice of ground meats and extras? I'd just preface by saying that meatloaf will be a process of ongoing experimentation. It's a dish that lends itself to whatever you feel like, have on hand, etc., even after you find formulas that work really well.
OK, to sum up the key meatloaf principles:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Start with your ground meats - I used a mix of chuck and sirloin, really wanted veal, and supposedly even pork or turkey can be solid components.
- Add more ingredients! They recommend a cup of add-ins per pound of meat. Most of that should be bread crumbs. Onions are solid; I want to try other veggies like kale, jalapeno, carrot, etc.
- For chemistry reasons, I assume, add a "glug" or two of milk and a (whisked) egg or two.
- Season (maybe a couple tsps?) - salt and pepper; mustard and thyme (what I used); red/cayenne pepper; garlic and parmesan; the possibilities are not endless, but near to it...
- Get your mitts in there and mix roughly - no need to be a perfectionist.
- Instead of squeezing into a bread pan, lump it into a vague loaf shape and cook in a deep pan or dish so that it's not confined by the sides. The goal is to get a delicious crust on as much surface area as possible.
- Cook for 60-90 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 (I actually used a meat thermometer for the first time).
- Squirt some ketchup on top, and cook another 15 minutes or so.
- Serve on toast and/or with mashed potatoes and veggies, and definitely more ketchup - no way around it, it's the perfect complement to the blob of meat.
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