Ludie sent me this recipe, and said when it was duck hunting season that all the men in her husbands group would beg her to make it for their dinner. She got the recipe from a caterer, who got it from The New Basics Cookbook written by the ladies who wrote the hugely successful Silver Palate cookbook. Apparently restaurateur Tony Bill suggested to his chef at the trendy 72 Market St. restaurant in Venice , California that he should put a meatloaf on the menu. The chef rolled his eyes, but started experimenting. Much to his surprise, Vogue magazine termed it the “ultimate meatloaf” and Good Morning America flew him to New York to do the recipe on the show!
I have to confess that I have never made a meatloaf in my life…and rarely tasted one. I have a vivid memory of walking into the kitchen as a child and being completely traumatized by seeing my beautiful Mother cracking a raw egg into a pile of chopped meat and working it in with her hands! And I worried about what else she might be doing to our food that we didn’t know about… But I have to admit this one tasted pretty good, and Casey had seconds.
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
3/4 cup minced green onion
3/4 cup minced white onion
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/4 cup minced celery
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced green pepper
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cumin (cut this in half if you prefer)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup half and half
2 lbs. lean ground beef
3/4 lb. lean ground pork sausage with no herbs or seasonings added
3/4 cup prepared bread crumbs
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the butter in a heavy skillet and add green onion, white onion, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until moisture has evaporated. Cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cumin and eggs and mix well. Add catsup and half and half and blend thoroughly.
Add ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, and vegetable mixture. It might be easier to mix this with your hands. Grease a loaf pan and add meat mixture, pressing it into the corners. Put loaf pan in a larger pan filled 1 inch high with boiling water. Bake in oven for 45 to 60 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings.
Note: I used plain ground pork instead of sausage, and panko for the bread crumbs. The loaf pan will be full to the brim. And I did NOT use my hands to mix the eggs and meat together, but you go right ahead!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This was always hand shaped, put in a Pyrex type pan, with the meat in the center. Pan was placed into a larger pan and hot water was poured into the larger pan about halfway up the side of the Pyrex pan. Cooked for about 45 minutes. The water bath was the key to a moist meatloaf. I have been making this for over 30 years.
Sounds like the way to do it! Thanks Jenna.