Tis the season for warm comfort foods. Or so I think. Usually, I am focused on soups and stews and fresh bread, but I’ve been failing to reach my daily protein goals, so I figured I'd go with something a little meatier. I’ve decided to make meatloaf as I enjoy it greatly. However, I have had both beef and pork meatloaves and cannot quite decide which kind I like better. The obvious conclusion is that I have to combine them and see how it goes. So I paid a visit to our shop (I don’t work on site if you’re confused), and got myself a pound of hot Italian sausage and a pound of ground beef. I’ve also been spice shopping so I have a whole host of those to play with as well. I also didn’t want to use ketchup, because while it is delicious, it isn’t very original. I’m typing this up as I go along. Here’s what I have come up with:
Meatloaf
- 1 pound Red Barn Meats hot bulk Italian sausage or ground pork
- 1 pound Red Barn Meats ground beef
- ½ cup onion, minced
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 ½ cups bread crumbs or crushed croutons (I used the latter)
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 Red Barn Meats farm fresh eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried mustard
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup tomato sauce
Garlic Sauce
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (more for more flavor)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 350. Combine bread crumbs, eggs, and milk in bowl. Mix well. Add in meat and mix well. Combine all spices in separate bowl and mix. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat and sauté onions until translucent. Add in brown sugar, tomato sauce, and spices, stir and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Let sauce cool about 10 minutes then add to meat mixture and stir well.
Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Form two loaves with meat mixture. Place in oven and bake for 35 minutes or until internal temperature reads 155-160. Let rest 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil and butter in pan and add garlic, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes, but do not allow garlic to burn. Stir in 3 tablespoons of flour and stir until blended. Add 1 cup of stock and stir. Turn up heat so that it bubbles. Add in 1 more cup of stock and stir until desired consistency is reached. I made mine into a thin gravy.
Slice the meatloaf and serve with gravy over the top. Enjoy!!
Post eating update: you can easily substitute ground pork in place of the hot sausage. (I actually thought I had ground pork until I went to open it!) Go with your gut on the amount of garlic you use in the sauce. I used two tablespoons and loved it, but it might be a bit much if garlic isn’t your thing.
