My Meatloaf

Cooking down the onions, garlic, spices and cream is the key to concentrating the background flavors of this meatloaf. This recipe was lovingly adapted from many recipes that I have read over the years and making hundreds of meatloaves. You can use ground turkey instead of ground chuck and it comes out great either way. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 ½ cups onion, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• ¾ cup heavy cream (buttermilk or half-and-half)
• 1 ½ pounds ground chuck
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (plain or Italian seasoned)
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup minced fresh Italian parsley
• 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt oil & butter in sauté pan. Add onions and cook moderately until translucent (now browned) then add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add thyme, oregano, allspice, Worcestershire and cream. Simmer to reduce by  ½ and has consistency of loose oatmeal, stirring frequently. Set the pan aside to let the mixture cool. 

In a large mixing bowl, add the meat, breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley, ketchup, salt & pepper. Using your hands or a large spoon, begin mixing the ingredients together. Add the cooled onion mixture and mix well. Transfer to a large baking dish  and form it into a loaf, or use a loaf pan. I prefer to use loaf pans — no more than 1.5 lbs per loaf pan. Spread ketchup smoothly over the top and bake at 350 for about 1 hour until internal temp is 160. Remove from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes right in the pan.

This recipe can be easily scaled for larger crowds. Keep the following proportions in mind: for every pound of ground beef/turkey/pork, use: 3/4 C bread crumbs (or 3 slices of bread) and 2 eggs. Adjust the proportion of the rest of the spices and ingredients to suit your taste.

Serve with potatoes in cream sauce!