It seems meatloaf is available with two sauces: Tomato-based, or brown gravy.
The tomato sauce is usually ‘baked on’, in that it adheres to the top and sides of the loaf; though there is also a less viscous sauce that can be spooned over. Tomato-based sauce might be catsup, tomato paste, tomato sauce, or other sauce that is primarily tomato. The brown gravy is… Well, brown gravy. Or onion gravy.
I grew up with the tomato sauce. Dad’s meatloaf was made of two pounds of ground beef, one pound of ground pork, Lipton Onion Soup Mix, dehydrated onions, bread crumbs, and a couple of eggs, baked in the oven, covered in Hunt’s tomato sauce, and backed until the sauce was cooked on.
I’ve only encountered meatloaf with brown gravy at buffets, and I’ve seen it on menus.
It’s good either way, but I prefer the tomato sauce.
I grew up with gravy-and-tomatoless meatloaf, and was aghast when I first encountered the ketchup kind. But brown gravy goes better with the accompanying mashed potatoes.
We have a fairly complex meatloaf recipe but it turns out fabulous results. The three keys are 15% fat overall blend; saltine crackers for the filler; baked on a raised rack so it doesn’t boil in grease.
Spicy tomato-based glaze. As with many, the only place I’ve encountered a brown gravy is in diner and banquet servings.
Both.
I was raised on the ketchup glazed variety but a girlfriends’ mother served hers’ with a brown mushroom gravy. As much as I loved that girl I think I stuck around longer than I should have for her mother’s Polish cooking.
Now days I do the ketchup glaze and serve the extra ketchup sauce and mushroom brown grave both along side.
You’re missing out on killer loaf with that recipe. I use ground beef and ground lamb, onions and carrots and garlic, a bit of cayenne, a bit of cumin, egg, crumbs, salt, etc.
I’ve had bad meatloaf, and I’ve had good meatloaf. I agree that the Quaker Oats recipe sounds a bit bland, but I think it’s about what you’re used to. Some people might think dad’s recipe sounds awful. I think his was the best (in spite of the effect the dehydrated onions had on the atmosphere a few hours later).
Hm… Maybe I’ll make meatloaf sometime in the next few days.