Meatloaf

Meatloaf would have to be one of the most American dishes you can make. But it can also be bland if you don't do something to absolutely own it. Using both beef and pork mince creates a fatty blend that tastes better and won't dry out like beef can on its own. Also, go visit your local butcher for the best meat. Don't settle for that supermarket crap--yes, especially if it's mince.

I'm probably going to annoy some people here by giving this a bit of the Mediteranean treatment. I've included a nice soffritto (Italian: onion, carrot, celery) but we're going dice the celery and carrot very finely--I'm talking 5mm (or less) here. Unlike the onion, which we want to caramelize for those amazing sweet flavours, we don't want to completely obliterate the carrot and celery. Also, we're going to bake it without a loaf pan. Using a loaf pan tends to just boil the meat in it's own juices, which can turn the meat grey, miserable and is obviously less healthy.

We're going to use cinnamon, star anise, cloves and peppercorns that we'll toast beforehand to really bring out their flavour. Forget the Dijon, Worcestershire, Parmesan and other sly cheats, because we're using red wine vinegar in an amazing finishing glaze for a dish that should be mostly savoury. Once again, I'm pointing to my own tomato sauce recipe here, but if you don't have the time, just use whatever you like. You can also add sliced whole chilli or blanched spinach into the mix. Maybe some honey in that glaze?--do your own thing, experiment!

Ingredients

• 100ml Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Bread Crumbs, dry
• 1/2 Cinnamon Stick, roughly crumbled
• 2 Star Anise, broken apart
• 4 Cloves, whole
• 1 tspn Peppercorns, whole
• 2 tblspns Olive Oil
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 Onion, diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 400g Beef Mince
• 400g Pork Mince
• 1 small Carrot, finely diced
• 1/2 Celery stick, finely diced
• 1 tblspn Tomato Paste
• Salt, to taste
• 6-8 rashers Bacon, short cuts, trimmed
• The Glaze:
• 100ml Tomato Sauce, (Recipe HERE)
• 2 tblspns Jaggery, shaved (or Brown Sugar)
• 50ml Red Wine Vinegar

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180degC (fan-forced), or; 200degC (conventional).
2. Combine the milk and eggs with the bread crumbs in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
3. Heat a small fry pan over a very high heat, add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and peppercorns. Give them a a bit of a shake as they heat up. Once you can smell the flavour release, they are done. Remove from pan, grind to powder with a mortar and pestle or use a spice grinder. Set aside.
4. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and when it stop sizzling, add the onion. Cook, stirring until caramelized. Turn down the heat and add the garlic, cook, stirring for 30 seconds then remove from heat and set aside.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef, pork, carrot, celery, tomato paste and salt. Now add all of the things that you set aside above. Use your fingers and mix it together really well for a few minutes. You should have something that you can shape into a loaf that holds itself together reasonably well. If not, add more bread crumbs.
6. Now it's time to make your glaze. Combine the tomato sauce, jaggery (sugar) and red wine vinegar together in a separate, smaller bowl and mix well.
7. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil. Fashion your meat into a loaf and place it in the centre of the tray. Use a basting brush or spoon to coat the loaf with half of the glaze. Pop into the oven, middle shelf, for 30 minutes.
8. Take you meatloaf out of the oven. You'll notice that some oil and fat is pooling away from the meat--this is fine. Now lay the bacon strips across the top. Like wrapping it up in a little blanket. Coat the bacon with the rest of glaze and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.
9. Keep your eye on it so it doesn't burn--different ovens may have different cooking times. Once done, remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
10. Serve warm with potatoes and steamed green beans. If you like.