Mom’s Meatloaf
(Serves 6-8)
This really is my mother's meatloaf recipe. The only change that's been made is to take out ground pork, which is often seen as a necessary binder and flavor-adder. Turns out that when you're working with Randall Lineback, all you need is... you guessed it! Randall Lineback!
Ingredients
3 garlic cloves (minced)
2 cups chopped onion
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lb Randall Lineback ground meat
1 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp thyme (fresh or dried)
1 tsp summer savory, basil (dried is fine)
½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
½ cup bread crumbs (Panko)
2 beaten large eggs
6 strips thick bacon
2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
4 hard boiled eggs (optional)
Large Wilted Spinach Leaves (**optional-- see note at end of recipe)
Preparation
1) Thaw the ground meat in your refrigerator for 24 hours or more (see our Thawing and Cooking Tips)
2) Remove the thawed meat from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature (about 1 hour)Chop 3 cloves of garlic
3) Chop onion to yield 2 cups
4) Melt butter in sauté pan, add onion and garlic, sauté until onions are translucent but not colored. Set aside to bring to room temperature
5) In a bowl, mix ground meat, pepper, salt, thyme, summer savory, and basil, chopped parsley, onions and garlic
6) Add beaten eggs and mix well
7) Add Panko bread crumbs
8) Cut bacon strips in half (crosswise, not lengthwise) and fry lightly.
9) Put bacon (single layer) on bottom of pan so they form a rectangle (shaped like meatloaf). Use half of meat and form bottom of loaf, make a well and place 4 hard boiled eggs along it lengthwise (**see note below to add spinach).
10) Top with rest of meat mixture, hiding the eggs.
11) Place remaining bacon strips on top of loaf.
12) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Check for doneness – meat thermometer should read 145 degrees.
13) Meatloaf should be basted 2 times during cooking process
Top with tomato sauce to serve (click HERE for our recipe).
**To really knock this out of the park visually, you can wilt spinach in the microwave (use large leaves, not baby spinach) and wrap the hard-boiled eggs before placing them in the well. It makes for a spectacular meatloaf slice!