Cooking For Engineers

[alison - uk]

Here in the UK you cannot 'buy' meatloaf anywhere.
& I can't believe the concept hasn't crossed the pond yet.

It's not available in cafe's, pubs, restaurants, chillers or
freezer cabinets, & it's not featured in British cookery books.
I ate it only once in Manhattan last November & loved it
served with mashed potato & gravy-real comfort food.

So I'm hoping someone can come up with top recipe for me
to make my own. It's still very cold here & I would love to
make a nice comforting dinner for my family.

The nearest thing we have here is faggots, & you'll have to
Google it to find the other definition for the word!

[Dilbert]

Hi Alison -

I suspect there are as many meatloaf recipes as for Cornish pasties . . .

here's one I like - btw, the family wasn't wild about the raisins, so they are normally omitted in our house.

raisins are not typical for a meatloaf, anyway....

2 eggs --beaten
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup crushed saltine crackers
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped peeled apple
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 pounds lean ground beef

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine first 10 ingredients. Add ground beef; mix well.
Pat mixture into a 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan.
Bake at 350°F for 1-1/4 hours or until no pink remains.
Drain. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.
Yield: 8-10 servings.

another part of "the great debate" on meatloaf is whether to"pat" it into a form fitting pan / container - as alluded above - or to form a loaf on a open surface within a larger pan - the difference being that in a snug fitting "loaf pan" all the juices stay put whereas on an open surface the juices can drain away.

I prefer the open pan/sheet method - but it is a chef's option!

here's another that I'm fond of - note the mix of pork/veal/beef - that's a classic base for meatloaf.

Meat and Spinach Loaf
1 lb fresh spinach or one 10 oz pkg frozen spinach
1.25 lb ground veal, pork or beef or a combination
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Salt
1 1/2 teas. freshly ground pepper
1/4 teas. nutmeg
1/2 cup celery, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed parsley
1/4 cup milk
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 Tab. butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 slices bacon

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF

2. Iick it over spinach to remove any tough stems and blanch. Drain and press most of the moisture. Chop the spinach.

3. Put the meat in a mixing bowl and add the chopped spinach. Add bread crumbs, salt to taste, pepper and nutmeg.

4. Put the celery, parsley and milk in the container of an electric blender. Blend well and add to the meat mixture. Add the garlic.

5. Heat the butter in a small skillet and add the onion. Cook until wilted and add it to the meat mixture.

6. Add the eggs and blend well the hands. Shape and fit into an oval or round baking dish or place in a loaf pan. Cover with the bacon and bake about 7 minutes. Pour off the fat and let loaf stand for 20 min. before slicing.

Serve, if desired, with tomato sauce.

[alison - uk]

Thanks for the swift reply & the recipes Dilbert. But you need
to know that's there's only one recipe for a Cornish pasty.
Shortcrust pastry, onions, slivers of skirt beef, potatoes, & turnip,
salt & white pepper, anything else isn't a Cornish pasty LOL!

The one I ate in NYC contained ground pork so that's the one I'll
try first. It's difficult to source veal in the UK as most Brits abhor
the way it's produced. The imported white veal meat has caused
controversy here the last few years & most independant butchers
won't stock it. Although there are now a few online companies who
can supply British organic Rosé veal from beasts who are raised til
six months old, eat organic grass & are encouraged to suckle their mothers' milk.

[Watt]

that's Swedish turnip, (the orange one) usually refered to as swede.

[Dilbert]

veal is not without controversy -

ground beef one can get in various grades of lean - 10% fat, 20%, etc - so you have to balance the fat in the pork (which is often not specified) with the ground beef.

I like the mix of pork / beef as well - there's got to be several hundred thousand variations on meatloaf <g>

[alison - uk]

<>that's Swedish turnip, (the orange one) usually
refered to as swede<>

Watt, it depends where in the UK you are. In the north
the orange one is turnip, & the little round white/streaked
purple ones are known as swedes. In the south it's the other way round Very confusing I know!

[DrBiggles]

[IndyRob]

A couple of years ago I read an article about the increasing popularity of upscale meatloaf. One twist I've used several times is to make the meat mixture as usual, but form it into a sheet between two sheets of waxed paper. Then, on top of this, spread/sprinkle spinach, cheese, mushrooms etc, etc, etc, and roll up like a jelly roll and bake (or is it roast?). Upon slicing, you have a sort of meatloaf roulade.

But now I find myself imagining a chicken-fried meatloaf roulade - with mushroom sauce.