Food & Wine's No-Apologies Meatloaf
"Being a Midwesterner born and bred, I (Heather) have had more than my fair share of meatloaf. As a child, I ordered open-faced meatloaf sandwiches every single time I went to my grandparents' diner. My grandpa said it was going to come out of my ears! :-) This recipe from Food & Wine magazine (Feb 1989, p. 131-132)is by far my favorite. The flavors are well balanced, and the oats redeem this fat-laden dish with a whole grain."
photo by lazyme
- Ready In:
- 1hr 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
20
ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (I use olive oil, can try half of each)
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 large celery rib, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 2 lbs lean ground beef, preferably sirloin
- 1⁄2 cup rolled oats
- 2⁄3 cup ketchup
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons salt (I omit this)
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
- 3 slices bacon, halved crosswise
directions
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over moderate heat. Add the onion, green pepper, celery, and thyme. Reduce the heat to low; cook covered, stirring one or twice, until the vegetables are very soft (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350°F In a large bowl, combine cooked vegetables and beef. Add oats, 1/3 cup ketchup, eggs, salt, and pepper; mix well. Spoon the meat mixture into a large shallow baking dish. Form the meat into a flat loaf about 2 inches high and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Spread the remaining 1/3 cup ketchup over the loaf; arrange the bacon strips on top.
- Bake the meatloaf for 1 hour or until it is just cooked through and shows no trace of pink. (A thermometer will register 145°F in the center of the loaf). Let the meatloaf stand for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- NOTES: For my large family, I double the recipe and increase cooking time to approximately 1-1/2 hours. A dash of Worcestershire sauce or Pick-A-Pepa kicks up the flavor nicely. You can also substitute turkey bacon, or omit the bacon and add a dash of liquid smoke. Using tomato paste on top of the meatloaf instead of ketchup adds a tangy flavor.
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Reviews
-
Good flavor, I just had trouble keeping it together....will make again.....Stephanie -
Classic recipe no matter what you add or omit this will taste GREAT! I used a pinch of Thyme. I'm not that crazy about the flavor of thyme. I aslo added in Cajun seasoning and a jalepeno pepper. Still came out GREAT! -
Lovely recipe!! I followed the recipe off pat but improvised with adding 3 cloves garlic in the "vegetables" - I omitted the salt as well and the bacon - the end result was very moist and cutting slices for sammies was a dream. I served the meatloaf with steamed eggplant, baby jacket potatoes and patty pan squash - making a homemade low fat gravy. Was lovely. Thank you for sharing your recipe. -
We really enjoyed this, even my daughter who "hates" meatloaf liked this. I used only olive oil and added red,yellow and green peppers. I added a little Worcestershire sauce. This will replace my old standard meatloaf. Thanks for sharing this recipe. -
Delicious meatloaf! I used a combination of red, yellow, and green bell peppers because I just had a little of each left. I also used a dash of Worcestershire and Tabasco for a little kick. My standard meatloaf is very similar to this, but DH really loved the bacon on this and has deemed it his new favorite. Thanks for sharing this great recipe Heather & David.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Hi! I'm very blessed with a daughter and 3 sons, all teens who don't hate me lol. I am passionate about my family, and being an Italian family makes us all foodies by nature! I love to cook just about anything that's rustic style, and I eat fairly naturally and vegetarian.
