With National Meatloaf Appreciation Day being just around the corner, tonight I made meatloaf to submit for the occasion. Meatloaf is such a quintisential comfort food, and the weather is just enough on the cool side that it’s perfect for dinner this evening. And it pairs wonderfully with anything potato based. Mine goes heavy on italian spices and the secret ingredient is the 57 sauce – adds a nice little tang to it. Basically, it’s just tasty.
It’s a bit of a “wing-it” recipe – one I’ve done for years and there isn’t much in the way of measuring that goes on in the process – but I can at least tell you what all goes in it!
1 # 90% lean ground beef
1-2 cloves of very finely diced garlic
~1/2 c. finely diced onion
Couple shakes of basil, oregano and thyme
Small handful of chives
1 egg
splash of milk
couple shakes of 57 sauce (about 1/3 of a cup)
enough breadcrumbs to get it all to the right consistency (I use “Italian Style” but regular should be fine, too.)
Mix everything together, adding the breadcrumbs last – you need it at a consistency where you can form it into a big ol’ ball without it falling apart. Also, I’ve found that having toss-away latex gloves to wear while mixing is really nice as you don’t end up with ground beef under your nails…
Bake @ 400 degrees for 1 hour on a broiler/roasting pan so the excess fat can just drain off while it’s cooking – no loaf pans! I let it rest for about 5 minutes before trying to slice.
I glaze the outside w/more of the 57 sauce and usually reglaze one or two more times while it’s cooking. It’s great hot, and awesome cold the next day in a sandwich. :-D
