I love meatloaf. It’s a simple, easy, filling dish and you can make it out of any ground meat. Meatloaf is also one of those things that you have to work awfully hard to screw up. There are probably as many different recipes for meatloaf as there are for burgers. I have several different variations on meatloaf myself, but this recipe is the one I make when I want to really impress dinner guests.
This meatloaf recipe is packed full of flavor and is sure to be a hit for any occasion. I have made this with ground beef, ground elk and ground deer. Each has a distinct flavor and this recipe brings out those distinct flavors very nicely.
Place the ground meat in a large bowl. Add the eggs, oatmeal or bread crumbs, onion, Worcestershire sauce, a few drops of the liquid smoke, bacon grease, salt and pepper. Mix in each ingredient as you add it. The liquid smoke is very strong so go easy on it.
Once all of the ingredients are mixed, lay the mixture out on a sheet of wax paper and press it flat. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the meat. You can use your favorite shredded cheese for this. I like to use cheddar or mozzarella, but your favorite blended cheese would work as well. If you want to make the meatloaf really cheesy, you could add in some Velveeta here too.
Once you have the cheese spread out evenly on the meat, use the wax paper to roll it into a loaf and seal the ends and edges. If you don’t have the wax paper to lay the meat out on, you can separate the mixture into quarters and layer in the cheese. Put one quarter of the mixture into your baking dish sprinkle a third of the cheese over the meat and repeat.
Place in a loaf pan or any baking dish. Pour the Catsup or barbecue sauce over the top.
Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for about 1 hour.
Add to this your favorite potato or pasta side dish and a salad and you will have a great meal. Put any leftover meatloaf in the fridge and you have the makings of some good sandwiches for lunch the next day.
Clacked by Jeff Love
on Aug 09, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
Yep, this is pretty much the meatloaf I grew up on! Definitely a comfort food in my book. Sometimes my mom would add chopped bell pepper, and recently I took to adding a couple of tablespoons of chipotle seasoning (sold by Pampered Chef) to my ketchup topping.
Thanks for a great recipe!
I haven’t made meatloaf for the longest time. This looks great, so I’m going give it a try. Can’t wait for the weekend:)