Judy's Meatloaf

This is one of those good news, bad news stories.  Steve is a die-hard Springsteen fan, as most of you know.  He and Ben saw him in Florence, Italy, in June, in the pouring rain.  So when Springsteen announced Fall dates for the Wrecking Ball tour, Ben snagged tickets in Pittsburgh for Steve and Matt and himself.  When Megan found out she could make it to Pittsburgh to meet Sam for the first time, Ben found a ticket for her, too. That's the good news.  But Steve was in Pittsburgh last weekend, and took Ben and Megan to the airport.  That got him home just as the meatloaf was coming out of the oven.  That's the bad news.  I had to take most of the photos myself, and you will definitely notice a difference in skill level.  Also, picture me with the camera in one hand, mushing together meatloaf in the other.

Meatloaf is one of those things that I make fairly often, mainly by request from Mom and Steve.  They like it right out of the oven, and they like to make sandwiches.  My latest innovation is to slice the leftover meatloaf, wrap the slices in plastic freezer wrap, and freeze them in a freezer bag.  That way there is no danger that it will become old and forgotten in the refrigerator.  One of the challenges of enjoying cooking is that I am always creating leftovers, and sometimes there are just too many good things.  By breaking things down into small portions and freezing them, it prevents waste, and creates an interesting mix of things to choose from.

So, this is not your mother's meatloaf.  In fact, my fans say it is more like eating steak, but easier to chew.  This recipe started out in the New York Times, probably 20 or 30 years ago.  I think it got much better when I started using Wegman's 85% lean Angus ground beef.  So I recommend using the best beef in the 85% range you can find at your grocery store.  I also like Contadina tomato paste, and use the one with Italian herbs here.  

A word about bacon.  For many years I microwaved the bacon for 1 minute before putting it on top because it just didn't cook thoroughly enough without it.  But I think it tastes better if you take the time to sweat it in a frying pan for about 4 minutes...that means keeping the heat medium-low.  Your goal is not to cook it, and it won't even change color. You just want to get the cooking started, so it will continue cooking on top of the meatloaf.  You'll see how nice it looks in the final photo.  Since you can't buy just 4 slices of bacon, you may as well cook the whole package.  If you don't use it up very quickly it gets all slimy and disgusting.  In this situation I would sweat the 4 slices for the recipe, then cook the rest until it is almost done, but not quite.  Drain it, let it cool, then throw it into a plastic freezer bag.  Now you have bacon ready to eat with a quick trip to the toaster oven to finish cooking it.  It's never a bad thing to have a few strips of bacon in the freezer.

JUDY'S MEATLOAF

4 slices thick cut bacon

2 1/2 pounds 85% ground beef, room temperature (leave it out for 1 hour)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 teaspoon chopped leaf basil

2 Tablespoons chopped dried parsley

2 Tablespoons tomato paste with Italian seasonings + remainder in 6 oz. can

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 egg, room temperature

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Sweat 4 strips of bacon over medium-low heat for 3 or 4 minutes, but don't let it start to brown.  Drain on paper towels and let cool.

In a large bowl, mix beef, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, 2 Tablespoons tomato paste, soy sauce, and egg.

 Now add the bread crumbs,

and mix until well blended.  You'll have to use your hands...this is when your hands will appreciate having brought the meat and egg to room temperature.  Having it room temperature also helps it cook evenly, because if it's cold the outside will dry out and get overcooked before the inside gets close to done.

 The ingredients should be evenly distributed like this:

Shape the mixture into a loaf in a baking pan (I like to use Pyrex).

 Spread the remaining tomato paste over loaf, completely covering it.

Cut the bacon strips to fit.  You can piece together the ends to cover more of the loaf.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F, then lower temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake for 1 hour longer, or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

There it is.  Couldn't be easier.