Citizens, today I give you Meatloaf – the ultimate American comfort food!
Simple. Easy to make. Boring.
NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN. 🙂
The Food Dictator despises the banal, and has yet to find a recipe that can’t be improved upon to add some flavor complexity. My template was the spicy flavor profile of soul food-style cuisine – though many of my ingredient choices diverge far from that evolutionary tree.
Meatloaf, of course, is a dish of ground meat mixed with other ingredients and formed into a loaf shape, then baked or smoked. The shape is created by either cooking it in a loaf pan, or forming it by hand on a flat pan. It is usually made from ground beef, although lamb, pork, veal, venison, poultry and seafood are also used.
Meatloaf of minced meat was mentioned in the Roman cookery collection Apicius as early as the 5th century. Meatloaf is a traditional German, Scandinavian and Belgian dish, and it is a cousin to the Dutch meatball. The American version has its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times. Meatloaf in the contemporary American sense did not actually appear in cookbooks until the late 19th century
Change whatever you want – this is my recipe and it uses some unusual ingredients that I fully realize are not the easiest to find. Simply substitute or omit the offending items. That said, this recipe is worth taking the time to try once, citizens.
You’ll thank me, for it truly is the best meatloaf you will ever have the honor of enjoying. 🙂
Battle on – The Generalissimo
PrintThe Hirshon Meatloaf
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ cup finely chopped Savoy green cabbage
- ¼ cup finely chopped Atakilt Wot (a spicy Ethiopian cabbage dish. If not available from home or restaurant, just use regular Savoy green cabbage, or try some Kimchee, if you want a spicy kick!)
- 2 small onions, finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced or put through a press
- 2 red jalapenos, finely chopped with the seeds
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, crumbled
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
- 2 large Anaheim green bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
- ¾ cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped
- ½ cup chopped celery leaves from the the heart
- ½ cup freshly chopped fresh parsley
- At least 1 cup homemade or good bottled Chili Sauce (have 1 extra cup at the ready if needed)
- ¼ cup Marsala
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 quail eggs (or 1 chicken egg)
- 1 ½ pounds 80/20 ground beef
- ½ pound mild Italian sausage
- ½ cup finely crushed Ritz cracker crumbs
- ½ cup bread crumbs
Instructions
- Spoon the olive oil into a large, heavy skillet set over moderately high heat. Add the cabbage, onion and ½ teaspoon of the salt and sauté until soft and deep golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Add 1-2 tablespoons water any time the vegetable seem dry. The water will boil away and encourage the cooking. If necessary, increase the heat slightly during the last minute to achieve deep browning.
- Stir in the garlic, jalapenos, basil, oregano, thyme, celery seed, salt and pepper. Sauté over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook until it boils away. Turn the mixture into a very large bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature. The recipe can be prepared to this point a day ahead.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 13×9-inch baking dish.
- When the sautéed mixture has cooled, add the roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, celery leaves, parsley, ½ cup of the chili sauce, the wine, worcestershire, eggs and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Crumble in the ground beef and sausage and mix thoroughly with your hands. Add the cracker and bread crumbs and mix just to blend. Shape the mixture into 1 x 5-inch loaf and transfer to the prepared pan. Spread the remaining ½ cup of the chili sauce over the top (TFD note – you will probably need more chili sauce).
- Bake the meatloaf for 1 ¼ – 1 ½ hours or until the internal temperature in the center reaches 155-160 degrees F. on a meat thermometer. If the drippings begin to brown too much during baking, pour ¼ cup of water or white wine into the pan. Let it stand for 15 minutes before cutting into thick slices.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
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