My outrageously decadent (but simple to make) meatloaf recipe. Enjoy!

Obligatory meatloaf porn.

So this recipe is inspired by and partially borrowed from two meatloaf recipes that I really love - Kenji Lopez-Alt’s, and Amy Thielen’s. Both are great, but have sort of long ingredient lists that are a little on the fussy side for me to make on a regular basis. I fiddled around with the recipe until I found a version that gives me that ‘lowbrow pâté’ taste and texture that I love, without requiring any/many specialty ingredients (depending on your interpretation of specialty, I suppose). I have intentionally kept the seasoning simple/neutral so that you can add whatever sort of glaze or sauce (or bacon wrap?) that you prefer.

• 1 large yellow onion
• 7-8 cloves of garlic (I usually end up using about half a bulb at least, but you can use less if you prefer)
• 1 package of button mushrooms
• 1 cup whole milk (if you don’t want to buy whole milk specifically for this recipe, you can use a low fat version and increase the amount of cream cheese by 1 tbsp)
• 2 packets of unflavored gelatin
• 2 tbsp of cream cheese
• 2 cups breadcrumbs (protip: you will NOT regret it if you bake a loaf of homemade bread for breadcrumbs, also giving you bread for meatloaf sandwiches after the fact. Find yourself a good no-knead recipe and have at it - it’s not hard, I promise)
• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 lb of ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce (or equivalent amount of anchovy or umami paste)
• 2-3 tbsp of fresh thyme
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Complete all mis en place:

   • Set out cream cheese to soften
   • Thoroughly mix gelatin packets with milk, then set aside
   • Wash and dry mushrooms
   • Finely mince thyme
   • Remove root ends and skin of onion, then quarter
   • Remove root ends and skins of garlic
   • Toast breadcrumbs over low heat in a large, flat sauce pan until they are golden, then set aside
   • In a food processor, pulse the onion and garlic until they are finely minced (but not processed into baby food), then set aside
   • Pulse cleaned mushrooms in food processor with a generous pinch of salt until they resemble breadcrumbs. Set aside into a paper towel lined bowl so that the salt can help force out some of the liquid from the mushrooms

2. In a large, flat saucepan, melt 2 tbsp of butter (ghee or bacon fat also are great substitutions) over low heat, and then add minced onion and garlic. There will likely be a lot of liquid from the onion, so add a pinch of salt, and allow the alliums to cook over low heat until they are soft, gently golden, very fragrant, and the majority of the liquid has evaporated.

3. Once the onion and garlic are cooked, add the mushrooms to the pan and repeat the process, cooking the mixture over low heat until the most of the liquid from the mushrooms has been reduced. When the mixture is done cooking, set aside and allow to cool off partially.

4. While the onion, garlic and mushrooms are cooling, mix together the cream cheese, milk and breadcrumbs thoroughly with a fork in a large mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt and several twists of black pepper, then add the ground meat, eggs, fish sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and the mostly cooled vegetable mix (it doesn’t have to be room temperature, but you want it too be cool enough that it won’t accidentally cook the meat or eggs).

5. With clean hands, mix together all ingredients in large bowl. Don’t overwork the mixture, but incorporate everything thoroughly. Check seasoning by breaking off a small piece and either microwaving it or cooking it on the stovetop and then tasting. Adjust seasoning as desired.

6. Add finished, seasoned mixture to a 9x5 baking pan, smoothing it down as you add each layer so that there are no air pockets, and then cover with foil (use a larger piece of foil than you actually need to cover the pan). Set in refrigerator to chill for ~2 hours.

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and set a rack for medium/low in the oven. While the oven is heating, remove pan from fridge and (with the foil still on) invert it over a baking sheet. Unwrap foil from edges, leaving outer edges of the foil still slightly turned up - this will allow the pan to shape the meatloaf while also letting excess liquid and fat drain off. The foil will catch the extra liquid and keep it from making a mess.

8. Bake meatloaf at 350 for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven, and wedge the tip of a spatula or knife under the edge of the baking pan, using that to lift off the pan from the meatloaf - it should still retain its shape without an issue (if it crumbles or falls apart a little, don’t worry, it will still be delicious if not aesthetically flawless). Return to oven for another 30-40 minutes (internal temp needs to reach 140 degrees F)

9. If glazing/saucing the meatloaf, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool slightly while you make your glaze (I’m partial to a mix of ACV/ketchup/worcestershire/coffee concentrate/brown sugar/black pepper/cumin that has been reduced to a syrup). Turn oven onto broil. Brush or drizzle half your glaze on the meatloaf, then place under broiler (don’t move the oven rack higher, you don’t want to burn the glaze). Allow to broil until the glaze is shiny and bubbling (usually 3-6 minutes, depending on how thick it is), then pull from the oven and repeat the process with remaining glaze/sauce.

10. Allow meatloaf to rest for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!

bon appetit