Hard to even write the word meatloaf without hearing Paradise by the Dashboard Light in the back of your head somewhere. What’s it going to be boy? I think the main reason I ever go to the trouble of cooking meatloaf at the house instead of getting a perfectly good plate of meatloaf and gravy and mashed potatoes to go from Bet-R is the cold meatloaf sandwiches the rest of the week. Hard to beat a meatloaf sandwich. I’m a member of the mayo crowd, but I know a lot of folks prefer ketchup or mustard.
You may be wondering about the boiled egg in the middle of the meatloaf. For the longest time I thought everyone did it that way, but apparently no one but my mother put boiled eggs in the center. Now she didn’t make hers with three kinds of ground meat like I do, but at least mine looks enough like hers to remind me of all the good meals she put together for us back then. One of the reasons I’m deeply appreciative of the throwback meat counters at places like Whole Foods and Fresh Market is being able to buy just a third of a pound of ground chuck and a third of ground pork. Sometimes they even have ground lamb fresh in the case, but Whole Foods has it in one pound packages. I’ll do a post later on about the lamb sliders I made with the leftover ground lamb.
Meatloaf has always been about binders and fillers. I added a couple of slices of toasted rye, one beaten egg, and some sautéed red onion and green bellpepper along with the two hard boiled eggs and a third of a pound each of ground lamb, beef, and pork. Salt, sage, and Italian seasoning with some white and black pepper to finish it off. Same seasoning on the new potatoes I cooked with the meatloaf at 400 degrees for forty five minutes (checked it just in case after 30).
I beefed up the packaged onion gravy (literally) by using beef broth instead of water and added that to some more sautéed red onions. Came out nice. Again, great meal to cook at home, but I always find myself looking forward to the sandwich even more than the entrée. Glowing like the metal on the edge of the knife is totally stuck in my head now…