Meatloaf Dinner
Learn to enjoy it when you hear meatloaf is for dinner. Add mashed potatoes, gravy, and roast vegetables, and you've got a big plate of comfort.
½ pound ground sirloin
½ pound ground chuck
6 ounces garlic croûtons, coarsely crushed
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
2 tbsp thyme, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
½ large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
4 strips thick cut bacon, cut into 6 pieces and crisp-cooked
2 tbsp bacon fat
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Fond from meatloaf pan
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
4 tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 egg yolk, beaten
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1½-inch pieces
½ cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
1 large onion, wedged
½ each green bell pepper and red bell pepper, cut into 2½-inch strips
Heat a large stainless steel straight-sided sauté pan over medium high heat.
Add the bacon drippings, garlic, and vegetables. Sauté until vegetables are lightly browned around edges. Remove vegetables and set aside until cool.
Mix remaining meatloaf ingredients and sautéed vegetables but leave out the bacon. Shape with a loaf pan and place on an ungreased, unlined baking pan.
Insert a probe thermometer at a 45 degree angle into the center of the loaf. Bake the loaf at 325°F until internal temperature reaches 155°F.
Keep warm on a different pan than the one you used to cook it.
In a separate oven, prepare the vegetables. Toss the vegetables with olive oil and garlic. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Lay vegetables in a single layer on a half-sheet pan.
Bake at 450°F, shaking the pan halfway, for about 25 minutes. Keep warm.
25 minutes
Heat meatloaf pan over medium-high heat on two burners.
Whisk in flour and cook, whisking often, until blond.
Deglaze pan with broth and boil until reduced by ⅔.
Add cream and Worcestershire sauce, and reduce heat to below a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and gravy coats the back of a spoon.
While broth for the gravy is reducing above, prepare the potatoes. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.
Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10–15 minutes.
10–15 minutes
Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds.
35 seconds
Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan.
Mash the potatoes and then add the cream, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well-combined.
Slice meatloaf nice and thick and place a dollop of mashed potatoes on your plate.
Top with a few slices of meatloaf and some roast vegetables, then smother the whole thing with gravy.
Serve.