Meat bread is a traditional European dish brought to America by the colonists and became one of the first dishes of the national cuisine there. The basis of the meat loaf is minced beef, veal, lamb, poultry or game, additional ingredients can be bread, eggs, bread crumbs, as well as various spicy-aromatic herbs and vegetables. Such a meatloaf is baked either in a long rectangular shape for a cake, or by forming a kind of "loaf" from it on a baking sheet.
National variations
The recipe for the first meatloaf was already published in the famous 5th century Roman cookbook known as Apicius. Since then, this dish has had many variations in various European cuisines. So in Denmark, such a roll is called a "fake hare" and is prepared from a mixture of ground beef and pork with bacon cubes, served with mashed potatoes, brown sauce and red currant jelly. In Greece, Hungary and Estonia, meat bread is baked by putting boiled chicken eggs inside the roll. They also prepare a version of meatloaf in Jewish cuisine called klops. In the Czech Republic, in addition to boiled eggs, sliced pickled cucumbers are put into the secana - as they call it there. Traditional Austrian meatloaf is baked wrapped in bacon slices. Italian polpettone can be filled with boiled eggs or with ham and cheese.
Dutch colonists brought meatloaf to America, but over the years, the original recipe has undergone significant changes. The dish became especially popular during the Great American Depression, because the minced meat itself could be made from inexpensive meat and even meat scraps, and you can also add oatmeal and corn flour to it. An American meatloaf is unthinkable without a fragrant crust, which is made by covering the roll with ketchup.
In 2007, according to a poll conducted by the popular American magazine Good Housekeeping, meatloaf was among the ten most favorite dishes by Americans.
Traditional American meatloaf
For a traditional American meatloaf, you will need:
- 3 kilograms of lean ground beef;
- 1 head of onion;
- 2 chicken eggs;
- 300 grams of thick ketchup;
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil;
- 1 cup of instant oatmeal;
- 1 teaspoon of salt;
- a pinch of ground black pepper.
You can replace ground beef with any other lean ground beef.
Preheat oven to 170C. Cut the onion into small cubes and fry until transparent in heated vegetable oil. Chill it and mix with minced meat, add eggs, ketchup, oatmeal, salt and pepper. Knead into a homogeneous, shiny mass and let stand for about 10 minutes. Form two loaves and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 60-70 minutes. Cover the hot meat loafs with foil and let sit for about 10 minutes so that the juices are absorbed into the meat rather than flowing out when slicing. The meatloaf can be served warm or cold.
