The meatloaf is a favoured comfort food to Americans. But did you know, this food has its origins in Europe? Fifth century cooks were skilled in making loaves out of minced meat; this is mentioned in the famous Roman cookery collection, Apicus. Other Europeans countries got this recipe from Rome and Germans who settled in America introduced this food to Americans. Soon this became a staple in American cuisine. Who can resist meatloaf served with a generous dash of tomato ketchup? Americans voted for this dish as their 7th favourite according to the Good Housekeeping website.
The dish was especially popular around the time of the Great depression when meat was hard to come by and people added bread crumbs and binding agents to get the maximum out of the little meat they had. This helped them stretch the meat so that everyone in the family got a share. Now the meatloaf is more than a dish to Americans; it's part of their tradition.
The meatloaf is a versatile dish; you can use different kinds of meat, different binders such as breadcrumbs, oats or cereals and make any kind of variation you want while cooking. For instance, you can add a dose of finely chopped or shredded vegetables to make your meatloaf more nutritious. With so many different variations, this is one dish that people never get bored of making or eating.
Make delicious meatloaf at home using this recipe and you won't know what hit you.
You'll need -
o Minced chuck - 18 oz
o Minced sirloin - 18 oz
o Chopped onion - ½
o Garlic croutons - 6 oz
o Freshly powdered pepper - ½ tsp
o Cayenne pepper - ½ tsp
o Chilli powder - 1 tsp
o Dried thyme - 1 tsp
o Chopped carrot - 1
o Coarse salt - 1.5 tsp
o Garlic - 3 cloves
o Red bell pepper - ½
o Egg - 1
o Catsup - ½ cup
o Dash Worcestershire sauce
o Powdered cumin - 1 tsp
o Honey - 1 tbsp
o Dash hot pepper sauce
How To Proceed -
o Preheat oven to 325oF
o Mix garlic croutons, powdered pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme and chilli powder in a bowl and process in a food processor till it's smooth. Transfer to a bigger bowl. Beat onion, carrot, garlic and red pepper in the food processor till you get fine pieces. Don't let them get mashed too much. Transfer this to the crouton bowl and add minced sirloin and chuck to the mixture. Add salt and egg and mix well.
o Take a ten inch loaf pan and spread the mixture in it to shape out the loaf. Empty this loaf shaped batter on to the centre of a baking tray lined with foil. Fix a temperature probe at the top of the meatloaf for 155o.
o To make the glaze, mix cumin, catsup, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce and honey. When the loaf's baked for about ten minutes, spread this glaze over the meatloaf and keep in the oven again.
Your meatloaf will be ready in about 1 ½ hours. Take it out of the oven and serve hot with creamy mashed potatoes or corn.
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