In the great wide world of comfort food, classic meatloaf is most everyone’s favorite dish.  Of course one’s idea of what constitutes the perfect recipe is open to interpretation.  I’m always on the lookout for tasty if not different takes on the dish. My mother, who was rarely inspired in the kitchen, was determined to make great meatloaf.  She dried every kind that came along.  One misguided attempt was made with bread soaked in milk and added to the beef mixture; the loaf was baked in an early version of a tabletop rotisserie.  It was awful! As a family we went out to eat often.

Classic meatloaf in tomato glaze

But I find that I basically return to the same variations that I’ve made for years. One of my standbys is from a recipe found on the back of a box of Quaker Oats Old-Fashioned Oats.  The company has tweaked it over the years as I have too.    And the version that I offer here captures this comfort food classic quite well.

Recently, though I came across a meatloaf recipe on the cooking site, Tasting Table.  It featured the meatloaf prepared by Vitaly Paley, the chef and owner of the Portland Penny Diner (that’s Portland, Oregon), where it’s called Mom’s Meatloaf.  The method offered was one that I’d not done before.  The basic loaf is baked on a rack lined with foil set in a sheet pan.  This method affects the loaf in several ways.  Since holes are cut into the foil wrapper, the fat drips onto the baking sheet. And all sides are exposed to the oven heat so it gets evenly browned; the beef doesn’t “stew” in its own fat.

Meatloaf, clockwise: meatloaf sandwich; meatloaf with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts; Mom’s Meatloaf with buttermilk biscuits

I’ve always made my meatloaf in a roasting pan so I’ve essentially done the same thing, though since it sat flat on the pan it did roast in considerable fat drippings.

The curse of many meatloaves is dryness, and that’s why you should use 80 percent lean ground beef.  Add to that some fatty ground pork or breakfast sausage and dryness shouldn’t be a problem.  Bisson’s, Pat’s Meat Market and Rosemont have good blends of 80-percent lean.

One of my variations that I like uses breakfast sausage in place of the ground pork.   The one I favor  is a local product called Mailhot’s Best “Downeast” found in the meat case at Hannaford.  I’ve not seen it anywhere else.

The basic ingredients for a meat loaf are these:  Meat (all ground 80 percent beef or beef and pork or pork sausage) filler (such as oats, breadcrumbs, crushed Saltines); binding (eggs); moistening (ketchup or tomato sauce); aromatics (chopped onions and green pepper), spices (generous amounts of salt and pepper) and I also like to add a touch of light or dark brown sugar to the meat mixture.

As for the recipes, I offer the Portland Penny Diner in recipe format preceded by my variations on my basic meatloaf.  I like the Penny Diner meatloaf, however, because it was an unfussy version that had great flavor and texture.

Here the meatloaf is served with buttermilk biscuits, baked sweet potatoes and kale sprouts

The important step to remember is not to overcook your meatloaf.  It should roast in a 325 to 350 degree oven for about an hour (depending on size of loaf) to an internal temperature of 155 to 160 degrees as registered on an instant-read thermometer.

Note: Mom’s Meatloaf, which I adapted with some changes, includes the addition of Miss Robbie’s homemade dried onion soup.  For that recipe click on the dried onion-soup link, which appeared in an earlier post on chefs’ spice rubs. As for other breakfast sausage I also like the housemade version from Bisson’s, Pat’s Meat Market or those sold at farmers markets.

Classic accompaniments for meatloaf include mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, baked or pureed sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, stewed white cabbage in lemon or sweet and sour braised red cabbage. I recently served Mom’s Meatloaf with baby kale sprouts, which are newly available at Whole Foods.  Just sauté quickly for a delicious side dish.

 Variations

My Quaker Oats meatloaf: Put 1 1/2 pounds ground 80-percent lean chuck into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 heaping cup old-fashioned Quaker Oats or any kind of local oats (not instant).  Beat egg and add to meat mixture.  Squish together with your hands until mixed.  Then add 1 medium size chopped onion, half small green pepper, chopped, 1/2 cup tomato sauce of your choice, 1 tablespoons brown sugar and plenty of salt and pepper. Optionally add a tablespoon of the dried onion soup.   Put into a shallow roasting pan and shape into a loaf. Cover the loaf with about 1 cup of tomato sauce, covering the loaf nearly completely; sprinkle the top with 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar.  Put into a 350 degree oven and bake for 1 hour or until an instant read thermometer reaches 160 degrees.  Remove and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

My breakfast sausage meatloaf: Put 2 pounds 80 percent lean ground beef into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 pound breakfast sausage.  Squish together with your hands until well mixed.  Add 1 extra-large beaten egg, 1 sleeve Saltines, crushed, 2 medium onions chopped, 1 chopped green pepper, 1/4 cup Worcestershire,  half of 1 cup ketchup, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and sea salt or kosher salt.  Mix everything together, squishing it with your hands until thoroughly mixed.  Put into a shallow roasting pan and shape into a loaf.  Roast at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.  Then slather on the remaining 1/2 cup ketchup and raise the heat to 350 degrees and continue to roast for a further 15 minutes or until the meat reaches the 160 degrees.  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.