the thin chef

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Note: this is a re-write of sorts of a post from February 2008. Meatloaf, though unrefined, is classic comfort food. It’s the perfect thing to serve in the early days of fall…and I’ve found that dinner guests are always pleasantly surprised when they find out meatloaf is on the menu, especially when it’s a delicious new version of the classic.

Meatloaf is definitely retro. It evokes visions of 1950s TV dinners, school cafeterias, and beehived waitresses in all-night diners. It’s a product of the Depression when meat was scarce and it went a lot farther when mixed with bread, eggs, and veggies. In today’s crazy economy, it makes sense to take cues from a time when stay-at-home moms used every trick up their sleeves to stretch a buck and keep their families well fed. Though it’s not the prettiest or most impressive thing one can make, with the right recipe, meatloaf can be very worthy of your dinner table.

With meatloaf {as well as just about any savory thing you make in the oven} I think the best part is the crusty edges. In that regard, mini loaves make much more sense to me…maximize the crust so everyone gets his own share. Ground turkey is flavorful and has less fat and saturated fat than most kinds of ground beef, so I generally go to it as my meatloaf foundation.

This version is inspired by a recipe from Culinary Confessions of the PTA Divas, which is a cookbook my mom and a friend wrote together. The recipe may seem kind of ho-hum at a glance, but the flavors are spot on. I make it into mini loaves and add pancetta, which makes the crust even more delicious and adds moisture and fabulous flavor throughout. With a spoonful {or three} of mashed potatoes on the side, and maybe some rosted Brussels sprouts, this is 1950s comfort food at its best.

Mini Meatloaves
Serves 2
In the vein of being budget friendly, feel free to substitute some of these ingredients with things you already have on hand. If you don’t have Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs, use plain breadcrumbs with 1/2 tsp dried oregano and 1 tsp dried thyme added in. Four strips of thin-cut bacon cut in half can easily stand in for the pancetta—or it can be omitted altogether. As is the case with most of my recipe for two, this can be doubled to serve 4.

1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned dry breadcrumbs
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup, divided
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 pound ground turkey
4 1/4-inch slices pancetta
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon hot sauce (I like Texas Pete’s or Krystal for this…if you use something hotter, dial it back to 1/4 tsp.)

Preheat oven to 450˚. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes or until onions are golden and very soft. Put cooked onions and garlic in a large bowl and cool for 10 minutes or so. (Spread them out so the cool more quickly.) To the same bowl when the onions are cooled, add breadcrumbs, soy, Worcestershire, ketchup and turkey; mix lightly with hands until combined. Add egg, and mix until combined.

On the prepared baking sheet, form mixture into two loaves, and top each with 2 slices of pancetta, slightly overlapping to fit. Mix together remaining tablespoon ketchup, honey, and hot sauce. Set aside. Bake meatloaves for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully spoon ketchup mixture over top. Return to oven and cook 5 minute more, or until the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 8:14 am and is filed under basic techniques, comfort food, money saving, quick and easy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.