A Pleasant Surprise

Generally I’m not a big fan of meatloaf. That is, I love Meatloaf the man, but I’m not overly fond of meatloaf the meal! The meatloaves I have eaten and cooked in the past have been solid heavy slabs of meat that were unappetising and, quite frankly, unpleasant. I had a recipe that I followed a couple of times and Hubby and #1 enjoyed it but I ended up pushing to meat to one side and eating the vegies. Having said that, every time I mention meatloaf people tell me how much they love it and what great memories they have of their Mum or Nanna’s meatloaf. I figured that there had to be something behind it and when I came across this recipe I decided to give it another go. I thought that because this recipe was very simple the end result would be reasonable cut and dried – a quick yes, I can live with this or no, I’m never making meatloaf again. To my own surprise, this was a winner. I really enjoyed the end result and everyone else polished theirs off quick smart.

Old Fashioned Meatloaf
From Australian Table magazine, May 2007

Step 1: Mix 1kg beef mince (ground beef), 100g breadcrumbs, 1 chopped onion, ½ cup tomato sauce, 2 beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons each chopped thyme and parsley, and seasoning.
Step 2: Preheat oven to 180˚C. Knead mixture to combine. Pack lightly into a greased 14 x 21cm loaf pan.
Step 3: Cook for 1 hour, until loaf shrinks from sides of pan. Pour of excess juices and reserve for gravy. Set meatloaf aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Pour juices into pan, add 2 tablespoons flour and stir on medium heat. Add 1 ½ cups beef stock , simmer for 3 minutes. Serve over meatloaf with vegies.