Believe it or not, I’ve only made one other meatloaf (Mediterranean Meatloaf). However, we have a lot of ground venison/beef to use up so I thought I’d give this recipe a try.
Source: James Beard’s American Cookery
- 2 lbs ground beef (I used a 50/50 venison/beef blend from the deer that my husband shot last year)
- 1 lb ground pork (I used pork sausage, from Grassfields Farm)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (from Far View Farm)
- 1 large onion, diced (I still have some onions left from the summer CSA)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp summer savory (I didn’t have any so I substituted sage)
- 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten (from S&S Lamb)
- bacon or salt pork cut in strips (I used some “butcher’s choice” strips from Creswick Farm)
- Mix the meats, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, savory, and breadcrumbs. Add eggs and mix again. Line the bottom of a 9×9 pan with bacon; spread the meat mixture evenly over top of the bacon. Add more bacon on top.
- Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, or until a thermometer inserted in the middle reads 150F.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes.
The Verdict: DH and I were watching a movie while this was cooking, and both of our stomachs started growling as the scent of cooking meat and squash permeated throughout our house! I knew that DH would love it because, well, it has meat in it. Plus bacon. The taste was wonderful, but very heavy. I could have used about half of the serving that I show in the photo. Also, it didn’t brown up as I’d hoped – next time I will try upping the temperature. It only took an hour to cook to temp.
Dark Days Info: I served this meatloaf with delicata squash (from the co-op; I drizzled with local honey and baked it alongside the meatloaf) and collard greens (also from the co-op). For the collard greens, I used two slices of bacon and fried them in a large frying pan, then added the chopped greens (stems removed), 1/4 C of water, and covered to steam for 10 minutes. They turned out just perfect, and the bacon added a wonderful flavor. The bacon was also local, and it was purchased as “butcher’s ends” which means that although the slices are irregular, the price discount more than makes up for it. It’s perfect for things like this.
For more information about the Dark Days Challenge, check out Not Dabbling in Normal.
This post also shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday
That’s a nice looking meatloaf. I haven’t made meatloaf in ages; maybe that will be one of my dark days meals in the next few weeks. Those greens look great too.