We went to a memorial service tonight for a friend, a guy who'd done considerable remodeling work for us. He was a wonderful teller of tales, some dubious but all entertaining, and a meticulous craftsman. I was sorry to see him shuffle off the old coil. His absence will take a little of the spice out of life. We were assigned the meat dish in the dinner lottery, so I made a meatloaf that I'm sure our deceased friend, a cook himself, would have enjoyed.
This recipe came to me a month or so back from an old-and-dear who shares my enthusiasm for food. Its particular genius is that it takes all the ingredients for a bacon cheeseburger and puts them together in a different way to make a fantastic meatloaf. So, Jan's meatloaf:
Ingredients
4 slices bacon
1 1/2 pounds lean ground chuck or ground round
1 cup firm fresh white bread crumbs
1 cup coarsely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, chopped
2 tablespoons regular or low-far mayonnaise
2 tablespoons India or other sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup ketchup
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over
medium heat until it is limp and some of the fat is rendered, 3 to 4 minutes,
Remove the bacon from the skillet and reserve it.
2. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to gently but thoroughly mix together the meat, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of the cheese, onion, mayonnaise, relish, mustard, salt, pepper and egg. Pat the mixture into a shallow 2-quart baking pan.
Spread the top of the loaf with the ketchup, then lay the bacon strips over the
ketchup.
3. Bake until the loaf is firm and the bacon is crisp, 45 to 50 minutes, sprinkling
the top of the loaf with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese to melt during the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Internal temperature should be 155 degrees.
4. Let the meatloaf stand in the baking dish for 10 minutes, then cut into squares to serve.
Dunno where she got it, but it's aces. Try it; you'll like it. Good as a reheated leftover or in a sandwich.
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2 comments:
While a bit more complicated than some of your other recipes offered up here, it despite probably having been rather aptly named something like "arterial damnation", makes me want to run to a 24hr H.E.B. even on this frigid first night of "spring" and pick up the ingredients so I can be a hero when I serve breakfast tomorrow........
That does sound delicious Loon. Thanks for the recipe. It has never occurred to me to put cheese in meatloaf, and I can't fathom why not. After all, everyone knows cheese makes EVERYTHING better. What a great idea.
Grandmother loves cold meatloaf sandwiches as well, and meatloaf is one dish we can all agree on.
I'm so sorry about your friend. I hope your spring season progresses on a better note than on which it has started.
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