I’m stilling looking to meet someone whose mother did not make meat loaf. It’s a fact, if you grew up in America of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s and well, the most recent decade for that matter, your mom made meat loaf. Or bought it at Trader Joe’s. And you ate it.
Meatloaf is best served with mashed potatoes and green beans. While that may be debatable, anyone that takes up the debate against this position is likely to lose. Because most of us grew up with this meal, and its sides, full stop. How you make the meatloaf is entirely up to the chef, and I never tasted a bad version of it.
I’m showing a photo of a meatloaf sandwich to accompany this posting, because as fine as my meal was during the Christmas holidays with its classic sidekicks, the sandwiches the next week were off the hook! But first, details on the loaf itself.
I used one pound of ground chuck, then one-half pound each of ground turkey (dark meat only), pork and lamb, the latter of which gives it a subtle flavor yet not enough to over power the palates of people that don’t eat lamb. I’ve made good meatloaf with a third, third and third of beef, turkey and lamb, if you want to leave out the pork.
For the bread or cracker filler, which also lightens the loaf, and is the dish’s prominent feature, I soaked one complete brioche bun in a one-cup measuring cup and filled it to the brim with half & half and one egg whipped into the cream. The egg helps bind the loaf during baking.
In the meat mix, I used one white onion, shredded with a cheese grater (the same way I make my lamb burgers), 3 green onions, cut into small pieces, and two-thirds of a bell (sweet green) pepper, cut into really small pieces. For seasonings, I used tarragon and Herbs de Provence, with fairly generous amounts of salt and black pepper.
The amount of moisture overwhelms the meat mix during the mixing, so I keep a container of Italian bread crumbs handy and shake some of that into the mix as I shape the loaf.
Folks cook meatloaf in different baking dishes and such, yet I am a fan of the open mound of meat, compressed into a large, flat-ish ball, placed inside my 4-quarter Le Creuset braiser, then baked at about 425 (lid off) for 15 minutes before removing it from the oven, covering the top with a heavy spread of ketchup, then finishing it in the oven for another 20-25 minutes or so. It comes out nice and browned and the juices and bits that seep out at the bottom become perfect drizzle for the mashed potatoes.
But the sandwich!
- Brioche bun, warm it but don’t over-toast it.
- A thick cut of leftover meatloaf, heated up in a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil
- Cheese topping; I used slices of Gruyere because I like the flavor profile for meat sandwiches but use what you like, or what you got. And I only sear it on one side, so the meat doesn’t get dried out. Once I turn the meat over, after only 3-4 minutes of medium-high heat searing, I turn the stove top off and top the meat with the cheese, then place the pickles on top of the cheese, before putting half of the bun on top of that. Before topping the meat, cheese and pickles, smear a generous amount of mayonnaise on the bun.
- With the bottom bun, I put the ketchup down first, then slices of red onion, and on top of that, a wedge of iceberg lettuce.
- Then put the meat and the upper-half of the sandwich on top.