My Meatloaf Recipe

Per Erin’s request, I give you a very rough recipe for my meatloaf. I grew up watching my mom and grandmothers making a similar recipe. I’ve adapted it to our tastes over the years.

Lindsey’s Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1/2-3/4 lb. each: ground pork, veal, beef
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup milk (more or less)*
1 cup freshly toasted bread crumbs (for gluten-free use oatmeal GF or cracker crumbs)
2 eggs
2-3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. brown mustard
A few Tbsp. Worcestershire
A few shakes of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Glaze** (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix ground meats together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk together. Add the remaining ingredients, adding the bread crumbs last. Mix well and add to the meat mixture. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix everything together. Make sure it’s all incorporated and uniform in texture.

Turn into a large loaf pan, or shape into a loaf and bake on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. (I check it after about 1/2 hour and recheck every 10 minutes–it could take up to an hour depending on the size of your loaf or the dimensions of the baking pan.)

*The moister the meatloaf mix before baking, the moister is will be after. But be careful because I’ve made it so moist before that it fell apart all over the place. It was still tasty, but I like it a little firmer than that.

**My grandmother used to mix up a BBQ type sauce and brush it over the meatloaf. To do that, mix together 1/2 cup or so of ketchup and add 2 Tbsp. each apple cider vinegar and brown sugar. Brush on the last 5-10 minutes before meatloaf is done.