Hmm. What to make tonight ?
Poor misunderstood meatloaf. The quintessential American cliche of food. I used to snicker when I thought of it myself. I shelved it in Grandma Food Category, being about as appetizing as canned peas or tuna casseroles, and imagining greasy half cooked pieces of bacon atop a bland mass of hamburger and ketchup.
But I was wrong.
It seems meatloaf has become hip again and every Food Network Star has their own recipe for one. I've even heard of Kobe beef meatloaf! But today we are taking it old school my friends.
Every year we buy a cow from a nearby rancher and have it slaughtered for meat. I know that might put some of you off, but the cow lives a nice free range life and is grass fed, never having to eat processed feed or antibiotics. A local butcher processes the cow and we store all the cuts in a big freezer in the garage. Once all the steaks and more expensive cuts are gone we find ourselves with a lot of hamburger meat.
I have started making this meatloaf recipe by Fanny Farmer from The Boston Cooking School Cookbook. My kids ask for it almost every week. These are the same kids who love sushi and goat cheese and I can also vouch for this recipe. It probably helps to have good meat and fresh eggs from the chickens. When it comes to simple recipes the quality of the ingredients counts. I also leave out bread after it goes stale to turn into breadcrumbs. Nothing can ruin a recipe faster than those stale tasting breadcrumbs that come in a can and it's so easy to make your own. It's like the difference between fresh grated Parmesan cheese and the stuff that comes in those green cans.
Fanny Farmer's Meatloaf Recipe
- 2 cups freshly made breadcrumbs
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- Preheat the oven to 350 F
- Butter a loaf pan
- Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl
- Pat into the loaf pan, top with the ketchup, and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.
Linking to:
Very cool post! About how many pounds of beef do you get from a cow, and how big a freezer do you need? I am a studio-apartment dweller for now, but I have visions to returning to a town where I can live in a house with a yard, a basement, and a garage. I'll have my deep freezer, garden, do canning every summer, and hopefully be able to cellar some other things in my basement.
ReplyDeleteWe actually get enough meat for about a year if you eat meat about twice a week.It's great since the quality of hamburger meat has been questioned a lot in the media lately.
ReplyDeleteWOW you buy a cow! I am so so impressed. You make really excellent life choices really.
ReplyDeleteNow that I have the recipe, what do you eat meatloaf with? Any sauces?
I am definitely going to have to try this recipe. We have tried 4 different meatloaf recipes so far and haven't been overly impressed with any of them yet. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy husband asked me the other day about meatloaf, guess he never had any. I like your recipe the best. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI really liked my mom's meatloaf, but she would/could never give me a recipe, she always just kind of freewheeled it and it came out great. I remember that it had ketchup, though, and feel like that is the ingredient missing from other recipes I've seen, so I'll have to try this one! :)
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