It is moist, updated– not that it had to be or needed updating; I just had what I had in my refrigerator and went with it. But the main way of making this meatloaf is the way she always made it at home, and for my step-father, his favorite meal that she has cooked for him for the last 25 years. And he put leftovers in white-bread sandwiches the next day.
You don’t need to follow a recipe for meatloaf. It’s really one of the most simple things you can make. You will need your fingers to work the meat, not a spoon. Blend well the ingredients and seasonings into the ground meat, making sure that you allow the meat to stand to room temperature beforehand; make it stick together and then form into a loaf and adorn it with good bacon if you’d like– The juices from the bacon give it added flavor during cooking as well as an attractiveness with a lattice formation or simply by just wrapping the meatloaf.
Mother’s Meatloaf ~
~ Skirt in the Kitchen ~
For 2 pounds ground beef or ground chuck, in a large bowl, divide with fingers.
In a small bowl, crumble 3 slices of bread, any that you have (I like white sandwich bread for this.) Pour over to soak the bread until softened, about 1/4 cup -1/2 cup whole milk, buttermilk or evaporated milk. (I chose buttermilk and loved it for this,)
Beat 1 or 2 eggs (depending on determined moistness of mixture right before completing into a loaf) and add to meat; then the bread soaked in milk; and other ingredients and seasonings of: uncooked oats, 1 small can of tomato paste, good squirt of ketchup, salt & pepper, minced garlic, chopped onion and/or scallion (I also chopped half of a leek to throw in… My mother likes to add grated carrots and chopped celery.), chopped pepper of your choice (Pablano is nice for this.). Don’t forget to put in a dollop or two of sharp mustard or horseradish mustard; and last but not least, Worchestershire sauce– a few drops. I also gave it a dash of cayenne pepper.
If you’ve got great aroma coming through the meatloaf mixture in your hand before it’s even cooked, you’ve got the seasonings in pretty well, and you can bet that if anything is/was needed, it’s just a little more salt or pepper on your plate.
Once formed into a solid loaf, wrap and adorn with bacon slices; brush lastly, generous amount of ketchup over the entire meatloaf before baking in a 350 degree oven until done.
Place on a rack inside a parchment-lined rimmed pan to catch the juices during cooking; or let it rest on parchment paper, just be careful it doesn’t fall apart after resting out of the oven a few minutes when transferring to a serving platter..
Mother makes gravy from the meatloaf juices to have over mashed potatoes, served with sides.
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