Ah yes, Alton Brown. I don't know why I didn't watch his show more often when I had access to cable. Entertaining, funny, and educational! Sadly, a quick check on Netflix shows they don't have anything streaming and only have the first season on DVD. And Food Network only has a handful of episodes up for viewing. Thankfully they DO have all the recipes up, so it's not a total loss!
This brings up to this week's recipe, Meatloaf, an apology to my taste buds for the previous disaster of a soup. Let's get started, shall we?
Good Eats Meatloaf
| Meatloaf | |
| 6 | ounces garlic-flavored croutons |
| ½ | teaspoon ground black pepper |
| ½ | teaspoons cayenne pepper |
| 1 | teaspoon chili powder |
| 1 | teaspoon dried thyme |
| ½ | onion roughly chopped |
| 1 | carrot, peeled and broken |
| 3 | cloves of garlic |
| ½ | red bell pepper |
| 18 | ounces ground chuck |
| 18 | ounces ground sirloin |
| 1 ½ | teaspoons kosher salt |
| 1 | egg |
| Glaze | ½ | cup ketchup |
| 1 | teaspoon ground cumin |
| Dash of Worcestershire sauce | |
| Dash of hot pepper sauce | |
| 1 | tablespoon honey |
MAKING THE DELICIOUS MEAT BRICK:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. In your food processor combine the croutons (which I only found in 5oz bags), black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse it until the whole things is fine crumbs, and then dump it into a larger bowl.
3. Put the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper into the food processor and pulse that until it's finely chopped, but don't go to the point where it's pureed--that'll will prevent the meatloaf from keeping it's shape. Add this in with the bread crumb mixture.
4. Last is the meat. If you've purchased pre-ground meat or had the meat department grind it for you, you can go ahead and toss that in with the crumbs and vegetables now. However, if you're like me (and Alton Brown), you're grinding your meat at home with your food processor because you like being fancy like that. This takes a little more prep time but I think it's much better than prepackaged ground meat.
To keep it from gumming up the processor, you'll need to cube up your meat beforehand and place it on a flat surface in your freezer for about 30-45 minutes. That'll give the meat a bit more structure and allow the blades to pass through cleanly. Just remember to also process it in small batches.
5. Once everything is in one bowl, toss in the kosher salt, add the egg, and then combine thoroughly, but make sure you aren't squeezing the meat.
6. Pack this mixture in tightly to a 10-inch loaf pan (I used a 9-inch and it worked just fine) and then invert the pan onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. A good knock or two should work it loose and you'll have a lovely looking meatloaf like the one below.
7. If you have a temperature probe you can stick it in at an angle and set it for 155 degrees. If not, just stick in the oven for about 45 minutes and you'll be fine.
MAKING THE GLAZE:
1. Combine the ketchup, cumin, sauces, and honey and mix well. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it's been cooking for about 10 minutes.
And, voila! A delicious well-rounded meal is yours!
While I've warmed a bit to the flavor of the glaze, I think I might go a different direction than cumin next time. I would also consider replace the carrot for more onion as the carrots would occasionally overwhelm the other flavors in the meatloaf.
Lastly, if you DO choose to grind your own meat, make sure you give it time to come back to room temperature afterwards. My meatloaf tended to crumble and I suspect that was in part due to the meat being so cold that it didn't bind properly.
Other than that though I would definitely make this again!
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