Meatloaf, Your Way — Jewberly Emiris

Apr 23

Apr 23 Meatloaf, Your Way

I feel that meatloaf is one of the most versatile, customizable entrees around. You can go traditional and use ground beef, or exotic with ground bison. Skip the red meat by using ground turkey or go for maximum flavor with a combination of ground pork, beef, and turkey. Whichever works best or tastes preferable, do it!

Maybe you’ve always eaten meatloaf made with ground saltines, maybe it was stale breadcrumbs. I often use gluten free rolled oats, but if I have it, I might opt for leftover cooked white rice, and sometimes, like this last time, I skip that step altogether. There is really no right or wrong way to make it so have fun and relax.

One of my personal preferences is texture, or perhaps more accurately, moisture. Basically I don’t like greasy meatloaf (or “slimy” meatloaf as my husband says.) My favorite way to avoid this is to cook my loaf on a wire cooling rack over a 9x13 pan. The grease drips into the pan, off of the loaf, and cleanup is pretty simple. To combat any lost (necessary) moisture, I add in chopped spinach and maybe finely grated carrots to the usual minced onion.

Veggies + moisture - grease = yum.

Oh, and don’t forget to season! Minced garlic, salt, pepper, chili garlic sauce — whatever you like, just don’t make bland meatloaf please.

The final step in a traditional style meatloaf is the saucy topping. Growing up was a mixture of tomato ketchup, yellow mustard, and a spoonful of brown sugar. Generally I still use something like that, sometimes adding in sriracha or leaving out the sugar, it really depends on my mood. (I’ve heard of some using barbecue sauce but I’ll leave that to doctor up canned pork ‘n’ beans.)

I prefer topping with more tang so I go heavier on the mustard, but if you have a sweeter taste, go easy on the French and squeeze a little more Heinz.

This isn’t the prettiest meatloaf I’ve ever made, but let’s be honest, meatloaf really isn’t about how it looks. It’s all about how it tastes and the memories it brings back of childhood. For me anyway.

It reminds me of my grandma, who taught my mom, who taught me how to make meatloaf, and someday, maybe, I’ll get to teach kids of my own. It’s also a great way to make meat stretch —especially in a time like right now but meat is maybe more of a luxury then perhaps it was before. Plus it’s very filling and goes great with baked potatoes.