Stale Bread – Meatloaf

I was always intrigued by the meatloaf dish and purposely took the trouble to make a special BBQ sauce just for this recipe. I do admit that this dish is a bit hefty for some stale ingredient, but bear with me, you’ll see what I do with the leftovers. This is my first time ever making a meatloaf, I really didn’t know how it should taste like or what the texture should be like but I did do my research and came up with this recipe. I absolutely love the result. Even if a meatloaf purist were to come and say that it’s not THE meatloaf, my gob would be too full of the lovely meat to want to muster a retort. I’d rather spend that energy savouring my hard work.

I don’t know if hubby enjoyed it as much as I did, or rather it was all too new for him too. He said it tasted a bit like meatballs. Hmm, I suppose in a way it does! I used lean beef for this recipe. Lean beef does not have much fat in it, I mixed it with some pork belly. After I turned out the dish, I realised I used a pan that is a little too wide, hence it didn’t look like loaves, more like thick biscottis. So if you’re attempting to make this, use a smaller rectangular pan but stretch the baking time.

If you’re wondering how I’d know it’s done on the inside…well, if you have a meat thermometer, use it. If not, I used this method where I stick a knife into the deepest centre, pull it out and touch my lips slowly with it. If it’s pipping hot, it should be cooked on the inside. But if you have no confidence, take out the whole thing, slice it and have a look. Which is why I foiled the pan up so you can take out the meatloaf easily or put it back should you need longer baking time.

 Chipotle BBQ Sauce

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MEATLOAF RECIPE

Ingredients;

Meat mix;
300 gms ground beef (90%)
100 gms (+ -) ground pork belly (10%)
1 big onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 big green pepper, cored, de-seeded, diced
1 egg
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Salt
Black Pepper
Parsley, chopped
Dried Oregano
Rosemary, chopped
Grated parmesan cheese, about half a handful
Olive oil
1 tablespoon of the glaze sauce (see below)

Glaze;
Chipotle BBQ Sauce (or substitute with store bought BBQ sauce and mix with some ketchup)

Steps;

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celcius. Squeeze the ground beef and pork belly together to get it thoroughly mixed. Next, cook your onions, pepper and garlic in some olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
2. Mix everything together in a big bowl; the meats, the cooked ingredients (onions, garlic, pepper), crack one egg into the mix, breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, rosemary, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, glaze sauce, salt and pepper.
3. Do a taste test if you’re not so confident about the saltiness. Cook a portion of the meat on a pan and adjust where necessary.
4. If the mixture looks too wet, add more breadcrumbs, if it looks too dry, add more glaze sauce.
5. Foil your loaf pan and spray it with some non-stick. Pat the meatloaf mixture into the pan, making sure you cover all corners and that it’s even.

6. Brush some of the glaze sauce on top. Cover with foil and bake in oven first for 45 mins. Uncover the foil and brush on more glaze and bake for another 30 mins or so or until the meat is cooked. You might have to occasionaly baste it with the glaze.
7. Let it cool slightly before slicing in. Eat with steamed vegetables and more of that BBQ sauce glaze.

Enjoy!

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The Sweet Spot