Not Your Mama's Meatloaf

 

Meatloaf can garner strong reactions from a lot of people. In my experience, there are two camps, the ones that love it and always have, and the other ones that loath it, and think it's one of the worst foods ever invented, reminding them of awful cafeteria food. I tend to think that most people who have that preconceived notion have never tried a good meatloaf recipe.  In fact, I would bet that today's featured recipe would convert them all into meatloaf lovers.

Thankfully, our family likes meatloaf, even though there have been a few hits and misses over the years. Anything from sickeningly sweet glazes to plain under-seasoned and bland concoctions. And while no one ever complained much, we didn't know what a truly fabulous meatloaf should taste like until I came across Tyler Florence's version. To us, this is the "ultimate" meatloaf that everyone looks forward to when it's on the menu.

What makes this meatloaf so incredibly tasty and unique is Tyler's use of a homemade Tomato Relish both inside the "meat dough" and also as a glaze. The relish is not hard to make but does require a bit of planning ahead, since it is best not to incorporate the hot relish into your meat. In the past, I've made the relish a day ahead of time and stored it in the refrigerator until ready to use. The meatloaf itself does not call for a lot of fancy ingredients, but does use a mix of ground beef and ground pork. I usually use 93% fat free beef with the pork and the meatloaf turns out perfectly moist, but certainly feel free to use whatever you are accustomed to. Soaking the bread (which is your binder) in milk prior to adding, assures additional moisture in the loaf. And last but certainly not least, the meatloaf is covered with bacon before baking. I mean, come on, there is no way you can go wrong with this recipe at this point. I'm only advising you to use the thick-cut bacon, which can withstand being baked for 1 1/2 hours without shriveling into oblivion or turning to sawdust.

This meatloaf has truly been a family favorite for many years and since it finally cooled down to the low 90's last weekend, my kids have been begging me to make this. There is no way I would attempt turning my oven on for this amount of time in the summer, but this ended up being the perfect weather. I always serve this dish with homemade mashed potatoes and a vegetable on the side. This time my youngest chose my  Peas and Carrots "German Style" which I have featured on my blog before. So if you like meatloaf or even if you've been on the fence about it, I'm urging you to give this very special recipe a try. It makes for an awesome Sunday dinner with loved ones!

Not Your Mama's Meatloaf
(Adapted from Tyler Florence)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

Tomato Relish (make first):
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (12-ounce) bottle ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Meatloaf:
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks by hand
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I used 93 %)
1 pound ground pork
2 eggs
Leave from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices thick-cut bacon

Preparation:

For the tomato relish: Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften. Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish. Let cool.

For the meatloaf: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the torn white bread in a bowl and dd the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meatloaf together.

This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. To test, fry a small "hamburger" patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency. Taste the patty for seasoning.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet (I lined mine with foil that I oiled). Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.

Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm (mine took the full 1 1/2 hours). Rotate the meatloaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that the bacon browns evenly Remove the meatloaf from the oven and it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side.

Oven Fries with Parmesan and Garlic

My kids believe that fries go great with just about anything. I tend to agree but usually fries made in the oven don't come close to their fried counterpart.

After eating garlic fries at Gordon Biersch not too long ago, I decided to replicate the recipe or at least come close to the original. Since I don't own a deep fryer or like to mess with hot oil I knew it would have to work in the oven. Searching all over the internet for a decent oven fries recipe, I finally settled on one by one of my favorite chef's (Tyler Florence). His recipe for oven fries was just what I was looking for. Staying true to the main recipe I only decided to switch up a few things: More potatoes, shredded Parmesan and of course garlic. They turned out beautiful. Cooked (without being too soft) on the inside and a little crunch on the outside - perfect. We had these with our steak dinner along with the Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon that is featured on my site as well.

Oven Fries with Parmesan and Garlic

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

3 russet potatoes, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, halves cut lengthwise into fourths to make 24 big, fat wedges

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup fresh Parmesan, shredded

2 tablespoons flat-leaf Parsley, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat a baking sheet in the hot oven for at least 5 minutes.

While the baking sheet is heating, toss the potatoes with the olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl. Dump the potatoes out onto the pre-heated baking sheet, spreading to a single layer. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, shaking the pan every now and then, until the potatoes are cooked through, brown and crispy. Toss the fries in a big bowl with the garlic, parsley and cheese.

Swedish Meatballs

Ever since my first visit to IKEA, I have been in love with the Swedish Meatballs they offer in their restaurant. They also sell them frozen in their little Swedish Market along with a packet of dry gravy mix. We had bought those a few times and while they were not bad at all, they just weren't great either especially since the dry gravy mix has a ton of additives, including the dreaded MSG.
I knew I could find a version much more to our liking along with being able to use all natural ingredients. I spent time searching all over the internet and through recipe books and magazines but nothing really struck me as mouthwatering, until I came across Tyler Florences Lena's Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberry Sauce which looked incredibly promising.

The recipe is pretty straightforward. You make your meatballs and while they are cooking in the oven you make the sauce. After the meatballs are cooked through, you add them back into the sauce and have them "hang out" for a while to mingle the flavors.

I followed the recipe almost exactly with a few minor substitutions and additions. First off I did not use 3 lbs of meat. We are a family of five and 2 lbs is more then enough with plenty of leftovers for us.

So I went ahead and used 1 lb lean ground beef (93 %, which also cuts some of the fat), 1/2 lb ground pork and 1/2 lb ground veal but I suppose you could use any combination of these meats.

I cut the heavy cream in the meatball "dough" to 1/3 cup but used all the other ingredients as written.

For the sauce, I didn't have chicken stock left in my freezer so I just went with canned chicken broth (I prefer Swanson chicken broth which has won several taste tests).

I also added another 1/2 tsp. of ground allspice to my gravy along with 1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg.

It turned out amazing. Never will I buy another frozen meatball or dry gravy mix again.

Here are a few tips:

Tyler adds black current jam to the sauce, and I did as well, it makes the dish. You can find it at most supermarkets. I went with a brand called Hero: Black Currant Fruit Spread which my regular neighborhood  Fry's Supermarket carried.

The heavy cream adds a velvety feel to the sauce but if you are trying to save a few calories I'm pretty sure you can use Half and Half and still get great results.

I served this over egg noodles but it also tastes great over mashed potatoes.

Don't skip the Lingonberries  for serving. They are really what finishes this dish and there are no substitutions. You can find Lingonberries at select grocery stores, the internet or just go to your local IKEA, they carry it in their little Swedish Market.