Sausage Meatloaf
Ah, the comforts of home. Meatloaf and roasted veggies.
Except I used to hate it. Not the veggies. Always loved them, even as a child. But the meatloaf. Growing up, we called ground beef "loose meat." As in "loose meat sandwiches." (Aka, sloppy joes.) And I didn't really like loose meat. Something about its texture.
Bruce? The hamburger king. He could eat burgers every day. When I met him, he was enduring a particularly horrid bout of IBS and lived on plain, sautéed ground beef with baked potatoes. Period. What's more, he didn't think of his diet as deprivation.
Isn't it funny how we change over long-term relationships? The inviolable becomes the possible. OK, we'll forgo deeper questions right now--such as how I've sort of come to tolerate musicals after being around Bruce for years. But in this case, I've actually gotten to the point where I like loose meat. (OK, not sloppy joes. But time will tell.)
Bruce made a meatloaf last night that was a lovely mixture of ground sausage and ground beef. The sausage was some our own pig, the one raised for us by our CSA. The ground beef? Once again, from the grass-fed beef farm over in Salisbury, The Whippoorwill Farm. Bruce and I have reached the point where we almost won't eat meat unless we've shaken the hand of the person who's raised the animal. But that's another story for another day.
Anyway, to make the meatloaf, we first softened 1 chopped small red onion and 3 minced celery ribs in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Left to my own devices, I'd use unsalted butter because I love the combination of beef and butter. But I'll be the first to admit that olive oil give the meatloaf a nice finish. He scraped everything out of the skillet and into a large bowl to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, he positioned the rack in the center of the oven and preheated it to 350F.
Once the veggies were cool (about 15 minutes), he added 1 pound crumbled pork sausage and 1 pound ground beef. No casings on that sausage, of course--just the meat. You could use sweet Italian sausage or even a mild but more interesting pork sausage.
He also added 1 large egg (well beaten), 1 tablespoon minced sage leaves, 1/2 tablespoon mild paprika, 2 teaspoons ground sumac, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 garlic clove, pressed through the garlic press.
OK, ground sumac. Oh, that boy and his spices. Sumac berries--NOT the variety found in the United States--have been ground into a spice in the southern Mediterranean, northern African, and Middle Eastern cultures for centuries. Ground sumac is often an at-the-table condiment, sprinkled onto roasted meat and veggies to give them a slightly sour spark, sort of like lemon zest but more herbaceous. Give it a whirl. You can find it at Penzey's.
And the while stuff in the bowl, a confession. He should have added 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs as well. But instead, he used matzo meal. Because we had it left over from Passover. And he wanted to use it up. So he went with what we had for economics sake. There you have it. A pork-laced meatloaf with matzo meal. Sometimes, my head hurts.
He formed the mixture into a loaf about like half a football and put it in a large roasting pan. (You could also use a lipped baking sheet.) Some people like meatloaf baked almost like a terrine, held together in a baking dish. We're partial to what we refer to as "meat lump." It gets a better crust and not such a soft texture inside. Less paté, more homy American comfort food.
He baked the thing about 1 hour 15 minutes, until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registered 170F. And that was dinner. With the roasted veggies, of course. Oh, and the other things on the plate? My homemade mustard--which you can find here. And some mango chutney from one of our favorite suppliers--which you can find here.
beef, comfort food
Reader Comments (5)
What, no mashed potatoes? ;)
We like! A lot.
Thanks, guys--it was pretty tasty. Even without the mashed potatoes. I can't believe I'm eating meatloaf. Maybe it's because this one is half pork. Like me.
Seriously, if I keep reading your blog, I am going to start eating red meat again. Something tells me this wouldn't taste nearly as good with turkey sausage and ground chicken... (both of which I eat sparingly anyway).
I wish, wish, wish, there was a place in Boston where I could buy fresh eggs and know my meat supplier (without having to buy half a cow or whole pig; though I would be open to buying a whole chicken!)... I tend not to eat the stuff because I like vegetables more, but every once in a while I would love a burger. I just can't do it, knowing how poorly even the expensive whole foods ground beef might be raised.
Diana: While I would never encourage you to eat what you don't want to eat, if you are interested in beef and pork that are closer to home, check out www.localharvest.org You'll find hundreds of farms in your state, many of them selling local beef. If not, order it directly from places like The Whippoorwill Farm, mentioned in the post. They'll drop-ship frozen beef to you. I do believe one must buy meat that has been raised humanely, that has had a good life, and that has been killed as humanely as possible. The Whippoorwill Farm uses an abattoir that's been certified humane by numerous organizations. I could go on and on and on about this topic.