Harlem Meatloaf
A few months after the Mr. and I tied the knot, I attempted my first homemade meatloaf. I had just started getting into food blogs and decided to try a recipe I found on Ezra Pound Cake. Needless to say, I haven’t tried another recipe since. This isn’t your boring old gray meat matter slathered in ketchup. The addition of Italian sausage, lots of onion, and Tabasco sauce makes this meatloaf the perfect mix of sweet and spicy.
Rebecca Crump over at Ezra Pound Cake recommends that you let the meatloaf cool to room temperature, refrigerate overnight, and then reheat the next day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the planning skills or the will power to take her up on that recommendation. After all, I didn’t think the extra day could really make that much of a difference in the flavor.
I was wrong. Straight from the oven, this meatloaf was tasty. The next day, this meatloaf was tay-ay-sty! So tasty, in fact, that the Mr. called me in the middle of the day to tell me he had polished off all the leftovers (which should have lasted for at least two meals) in one sitting. Yeah, it’s I-can’t-stop-eating-this-even-though-I’m about-to-explode good. So if you can, plan ahead and be strong. The second day meatloaf makes an unbelievable sandwich. I promise it’s worth the wait.
Yield: 6 servings
Recipe from Ezrapoundcake.com who thanks “The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook”
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, chuck, or sirloin
1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
2 teaspoons Tabasco
1 1/2 cups yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs (not dried)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
For the glaze:
1/4 cup ketchip
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Break the beef and sausage up into small hunks in a large bowl. In a second large bowl, whisk together ketchip, Worcestershire, and Tabasco sauce. Pour into meat mixture. In the same bowl, mix onion, garlic, and parsley then add to meat mixture. Sprinkle bread crumbs over meat mixture. Add beaten egg and salt. With your fingers or a wooden spoon gently mix ingredients together until well blended.
3. Place the mixture into a 9 x 13 in pan and form into a loaf. Bake for 35 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together ingredients for the glaze. After the meatloaf has baked 35 minutes, brush glaze over the top of the meatloaf. Continue to bake until the glaze stiffens, about 15 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and let rest about 10 minutes before serving.
6. Serve or cool to room temperature and refrigerate fro 24 hours. The next day, reheat the loaf, covered with foil, in a warm oven.