Comfort Essentials Beef Short Rib Meatloaf Food

CLASSIC MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the carrot, celery, onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic in a food processor, and pulse until very finely chopped, almost to a puree. Place the minced vegetables into a large mixing bowl, and mix in ground chuck, Worcestershire sauce, and egg. Add Italian herbs, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix gently with a wooden spoon to incorporate vegetables and egg into the meat. Pour in bread crumbs. With your hand, gently mix in the crumbs with your fingertips just until combined, about 1 minute.
• Form the meatloaf into a ball. Pour olive oil into a baking dish and place the ball of meat into the dish. Shape the ball into a loaf, about 4 inches high by 6 inches across.
• Bake in the preheated oven just until the meatloaf is hot, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, ketchup, Dijon mustard, and hot sauce. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.
• Remove the meatloaf from the oven. With the back of a spoon, smooth the glaze onto the top of the meatloaf, then pull a little bit of glaze down the sides of the meatloaf with the back of the spoon.
• Return meatloaf to oven, and bake until the loaf is no longer pink inside and the glaze has baked onto the loaf, 30 to 40 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the loaf should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Cooking time will depend on shape and thickness of the meatloaf.

COMFORT ESSENTIALS: BEEF SHORT RIB MEATLOAF

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. What is a panade? It is a simple way to keep your ground meat-based dishes moist, tender and flavorful, and it is simple to make. Milk and bread is all you need. If you use dried breadcrumbs (which is fairly typical), they will absorb moisture, and you will be left with a dry meatloaf. However, a panade keeps that ground meat, nice and tasty.
• 3. I am not using "regular" ketchup in this recipe, I am using my tomato jam. You can, of course use ketchup; however, if you are interested, here is the recipe: https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/jam/sauce-essentials-sweet-savory-tomato-jam.html
• 4. Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
• 5. Place a rack in the bottom position, and preheat the oven to 355f (180c).
• 6. THE PANADE
• 7. In a small bowl, mix together the torn bread bits, and milk, then reserve.
• 8. THE VEGGIES, SPICES, AND OTHER STUFF
• 9. Throw the grapeseed oil into a small saucepan over medium heat, add the onions, and cook until they soften, and just begin to turn brown, about 6 - 8 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and allow to cool, and reserve.
• 10. Add the ketchup, mustard, relish, and eggs to a bowl, whisk to combine, and reserve.
• 11. THE MEATS
• 12. Okay, here is the deal, I usually grind my own meats. If you do not do this, then purchase the meats pre-ground, throw them into a bowl with the dry spices, and proceed to the section on assembly. However, for a lot of good reasons, I do recommend grinding your own meats. If, for nothing else, it is cheaper. I have a dedicated meat grinder for catering jobs, but I also have a grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. If you have a Kitchen Aid, you might want to check it out: https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-FGA-Food-Grinder-Attachment/dp/B00004SGFH/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1537199216&sr=8-3&keywords=kitchenaid+meat+grinder+accessory
• 13. Cut off any excess fat from the meat, then cut into chunks, and toss with the spices.
• 14. Using the medium die, grind up the meats into a large bowl.
• 15. Look at all that wonderful marbling.
• 16. Chef's Note: By mixing the spices in with the meat before grinding, you are creating ground beef, perfectly mixed with the spices. That is another good reason to grind your own meats.
• 17. THE ASSEMBLY
• 18. Add the onions, the panade, and the egg mixture to the bowl with the ground meats. Does that not look so scrummy.
• 19. Gently mix the ingredients together, until combined. Do not overmix.
• 20. Add the mix to your baking pan.
• 21. I am using a pan that has an insert. It raises the meatloaf off the bottom, so that when it bakes, it is not sitting in its own grease. https://www.amazon.com/USA-Pan-Bakeware-Aluminized-Insert/dp/B001HY8F3C/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1537454696&sr=8-5&keywords=meatloaf+pan+that+drains+grease
• 22. Cover the pan with a piece of parchment paper, and then cover with some foil.
• 23. Place in the preheated oven, for 40 minutes.
• 24. Remove from the oven, take off the cover, and brush with some ketchup, or my tomato jam.
• 25. Increase heat to 375f (190c), and return to the oven (uncovered) for an additional 30 minutes.
• 26. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes, before serving.
• 27. PLATE/PRESENT
• 28. Serve while nice and warm, with your favorite comfort side dishes, like some garlic mash taters. Enjoy.
• 29. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH MEAT LOAF

Steps:

• Combine eggs, milk, bread crumbs, onion, salt, sage, and mushrooms in a large bowl. Crumble ground beef over mixture and stir well to combine. Shape into a round loaf; place in a 5-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), 5 to 6 hours.
• Whisk ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl; spoon sauce over meat loaf. Return to slow cooker and cook on Low until heated through, about 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.