Find the Alton Brown recipe on line. It’s the best, and backed by food science to boot.
For you, DB!
I only came across this recipe this afternoon, but I’m really looking forward to trying it with Ground Turkey and Turkey Bacon. If you make it let me know how it was! Enjoy!
Avocado - Tomato Meat Loaf (April/2004)
From the Southern Living Cookbook Library, The Ground Beef Cookbook
See also Cookbook: Southern Living Cook Off 2004
4 slices bacon, 3/4 c diced celery, 1/2 c chopped green onions, 2 TB minced parsley, 1/2 c diced green pepper, 1 lb ground veal, 1 lb. ground hamburger, 1- 8 oz can tomato sauce, 1 c bread crumbs, 2 c chopped mushrooms, 1 egg slightly beaten, 2 TB flour, 1 peeled avocado diced, 2 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, (2 tsp salt, 1/2 ripe tomato diced and added for color, optional)
Fry the bacon in a skillet until brown, then remove and set aside. Add the celery, green onion, parsley, and green pepper to the bacon drippings in the pan and cook until tender. Place the soft vegs (as well as the bacon grease) plus all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Crumble the bacon into 1/4" to 1/2" size pcs and also add to bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add the chopped avocado last and mix with care, incorporating all. Pack entire mixture down firmly into a 5" x 5" x 9" loaf pan. Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Drain, then bake an additional 45 minutes. Drain again. Serve immediately.
That would be the aforementioned Nixon Meatloaf. Here it is:
PAT NIXON’S MEATLOAF
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 slices white bead
1 cup milk
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Melt butter in a saute pan, add garlic and saute until just golden – do not brown. Let cool.
Dice bread and soak it in milk. In a large mixing bowl, mix ground beef by hand with sauteed onions and garlic and bread pieces. Add eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, thyme and marjoram and mix by hand in a circular motion.
Turn this mixture into the prepared baking pan and pat into a loaf shape, leaving at least one inch of space around the edges to allow fat to run off. Brush the top with the tomato puree and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the flavors to penetrate and to firm up the loaf.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake meatloaf on lower shelf of oven for 1 hour, or until meat is cooked through. Pour off accumulated fat several times while baking and after meat is fully cooked. Let stand on wire rack for five minutes before slicing. Makes 6 servings.
Like I said, I skip the puree and glaze with ketchup. This not only makes a fine dinner meatloaf, but also a superior cold one for the next day’s sandwiches, which everyone knows is the real reason to make meatloaf.
We don’t have a real recipe for meatloaf. However, we do generally put in onion, celery, and bell pepper, all of which have been diced and then sauteed in olive oil. I will generally put in A1 sauce. And my mother taught me to soak the bread or cracker crumbs in the milk and egg mix for a couple of minutes, so they soften up and blend better.
I’ve used three different recipes for Meat Loaf, and two out of three ain’t bad.
That’s awesome!
Let’s see, I don’t have any recipes in whole to share here, but I will describe some techniques I’ve seen.
My mom used to add a can of vegetable soup to the mix to add veggie chunks, salt, and the flavorful stock. She also laid bacon strips across the top and glazed with ketchup. I haven’t had that since I was a little kid so I don’t know if it was good or not but I remember I like it at the time.
I have made an asian inspired sweet and sour meatloaf before. The key here is with the sauce. It starts off with tomato sauce from a can (you know the plain spaghetti sauce without seasoning you can find near the pasta and crushed tomatos) as the body. Then add brown sugar and rice vinegar for the sweet and sour part. Add some grated ginger to the mix. Add about half the mix to your meatloaf and use the rest to glaze.
Nope. My recipe is a bit different, and the cookbook predates the Nixon Administration. Not that Pat’s recipe is bad, it’s just different.
I make mine with salsa instead of catsup and I throw in a can of diced green chili’s and then I top the loaf with salsa instead of catsup as well.
You took the words right out of my mouth…
I like putting down a thin layer of brown sugar at the bottom of the pan. And I’m a sucker for worcestershire sauce, so I add plenty of that to the meat.