Meatloaf Recipe Collection
If you had to pick the one dish that represents American Comfort Food, regional peculiarities aside, I would wager that meatloaf would at least make it on a list of the top five.
I've made scores of meatloaf over the years and there is no one, single, supreme, omnipotent recipe for this dish even though the Internet is replete with meatloaf concoctions that tout themselves as "The Best," "The Ultimate," or according to one recipe I researched from Jessica at a website called Recipe Roost, "The World’s BEST Meatloaf Recipe – No Joke! It Won an Award!"
Her secret ingredient? Campbell's Cream of Tomato Soup.
No Joke.
Lord, how I hate hyperbole in the recipe blogosphere.
In the US, there is no specific, formal legal definition of "meatloaf" in federal law. While there are detailed legal definitions for many food products (such as for "hamburger" or "cheese"), meatloaf as a dish does not have an official, codified definition. While meatloaf can vary widely based on personal preferences, regional variations, and specific family recipes, there are some common characteristics of what most people would recognize as meatloaf:
These characteristics would include:
• Ground meat, of course, with ground beef the most common, but some cooks add ground pork or veal which is entirely acceptable. Stupid people use ground turkey.
• A binder to help give the loaf structure and stability, with breadcrumbs the most common, but other starches like rice or crushed crackers can also serve this function. My mom used Quaker Oats.
• A binding ingredient to help hold everything together. Usually, this is an egg or two, but milk or cream are not uncommon.
• Vegetables are optional, but chopped or minced onion is commonly included in most meatloaf recipes to add moisture and flavor. Bell peppers, carrots and even mushrooms, all finely chopped, are often included.
• A seasoning mix is what will give the meatloaf its cook's signature and can vary widely, but garlic, thyme, and oregano are common, and the addition of Worcestershire Sauce, ketchup or tomato paste might also in the mix. The seasoning mixture can vary widely depending on personal preferences and regional influences.
• A topping is also optional, but common, frequently ketchup, tomato paste or even barbecue sauce. Upscale versions might include wrapping the meatloaf in bacon or pancetta.
The history of meatloaf is a fascinating journey through time and culinary traditions. The concept of mixing ground or minced meat with fillers such as bread or grains date back to the Roman period where historical and archeological records show people making ground meat cakes for centuries throughout the Middle Ages.
Meatloaf as we recognize it today has its roots in Europe. Germany had a ground meat dish known as "frikadellen.” Sweden had "kottbullar" now known as Swedish Meatballs, and France shared the principles of using ground meat with binders in its "pâté de viande."
Meatloaf became "comfort food" and was a staple in American households by the 20th Century. One of the US's first widely circulated recipe books, The Settlement Cookbook, included a recipe for it. During the post WWII boom, meatloaf became a symbol of nostalgia, warmth and simplicity and by the '70s, it was featured in sitcoms and home cooking shows of the day. Today, of course, meatloaf has undergone resurgence with chefs in upscale eateries experimenting with gourmet versions that might include exotic meats such as Kobe beef, bison or wild boar and other alluring ingredients like truffles.
My meatloaf recipes are fairly basic, but I have four variations that I could not pare down to just one best, so I decided to corral them into a single section on Kitchen Tapestry.
