Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a food that is known practically in every corner of the world. Everywhere it is made differently, and every family also prepares it differently. Some national features are existing, but they are not very clearly defined.
You can find these recipes existing in very old cookbooks. Some think they can find references to a similar dish as far back as Ancient Rome, but I haven’t found anything concrete about this dish in food history.
Meatlloafs are made from every imaginable meat, pork, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, etc. It is also made with fish and even in a vegetarian version.
As a family meal, it seems to be popular in several countries. I think that in anticipation of the approaching winter, it is appropriate to prepare a sturdy long boy for the family some weekend.
Here is one possible way to prepare a meatloaf, which takes time, but gives at the end a very tasty result. The meatloaf is wrapped in strips of bacon before baking in the oven, which gives the food a nice smoked bacon taste. I also used a lot of vegetable additives and two types of cheese to make the food even tastier.
I cooked my meatloaf with carrots and bell peppers that cooked soft in the juices extracted from the food. Together with these juices, I crushed the vegetables in the bottom of the baking dish and made a nice, tasty puree.
Preparation time: 45 minutes preparation, 2 hours baking
Level: Medium
Quantity: Two large meatloafs
Ingredients:
Meatloaf
1.2 kg good quality minced meat (a mixture of minced pork and beef)
100 g of onion, grated with a coarse grater
200 g of carrots, grated with a coarse grater
3 medium cloves of garlic, finely crushed
A handful of parsley, chopped
2 tbsp cooking oil for frying grated vegetables
125 g of mozzarella, crumbled into small pieces
80 g of cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
2 eggs
600 g narrower bacon strips
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp oregano for seasoning
A vegetable to make the puree
600 g of carrots, cut thinner so that they cook through nicely
200 g of paprika
A few tablespoons of cooking oil
Salt and pepper to taste
A sauce made from 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 4 tablespoons of orange juice works well for brushing the long boy while cooking.
Preparation:
- Prepare the meatloaf dough. To do this, grate the onion and carrots with a coarser grater and finely crush the garlic. Fry on medium heat with a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil for about 5 minutes, stirring the mixture in between.
- Mix minced meat, eggs, fried carrot, onion, and garlic in a large bowl, and add crumbled mozzarella. Grate the cheddar and add to the mixture. Finely chop a handful of parsley and add to the mixture. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.
- Lay the strips of bacon crosswise on the cling film until an area of about 25 x 25 cm is covered. Form an oblong loaf from the meatloaf dough and place it on the bacon layer. This amount of dough and bacon is enough for two meatloaves.
- Using the cling film, carefully wrap the bacon strips around the meatloaf. Remove the cling film and use your hands to press the bacon strips into the ends of the meatloaf, closing it into the bacon coating.
- Prepare the second meatloaf in the same way.
- Carefully place the meatloaves in the baking dish.
- Cut the prepared carrots and peppers. The shape of the pieces is not so important because they are made during the pureeing process. Line the area around the meatloaf with vegetables and season lightly.
- Place the meatloaves in the oven and bake at 180 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Brush the meatloaves about every 30 minutes with a mixture made using liquid honey, soy sauce, and orange juice.
- If the meatloaves are cooked, but the bacon is not browned enough, switch the oven to the grill mode and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the bacon is nicely browned and looks beautiful.
- Put the meatloaves on the cutting board and the baking dish with vegetables and liquid back into the oven, and cook for another 15 minutes until the liquid has reduced slightly. If there is not too much liquid, this step can be skipped.
- Pour the vegetables and liquid into a bowl and mash with a blender into a smooth puree.
- Cut 2-3 cm thick slices from the meatloaf and serve with vegetable puree. When serving, you can use tomatoes, herbs, and mashed potatoes are perfect for the meatloaf.
Ready!!
