Yeah, Meatloaf Rocks!!!

A lot of times when I tell people what I do they end up asking me the question, "What do you like to cook?" Or some version of that question. I love to cook all kinds of foods. Sometimes, though, the best foods are the simplest comfort foods. So keep that in mind when I give you this recipe for meatloaf. Yes, that's right, meatloaf. But this meatloaf is no wimpy meatloaf, and I will write in a few variations if you get tired of the original.

Kevin's Pepper Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp Red Peppercorns

1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns

1/2 tsp White Peppercorns

1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 White onion, diced

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp Rosemary, Fresh, chopped

1/2 tsp Thyme, Fresh, chopped

1 LB Ground Beef, 10% fat

1/2 LB Ground Buffalo

1/2 LB Ground Pork

2 Eggs, beaten

1/2 C Panko Bread crumbs

1/2 C Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Get out your loaf pan usually 9" x 5" x 3".

Place whole peppercorns in a medium skillet over medium heat and heat until fragrant. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. When the peppercorns have cooled slightly place them all into a spice grinder and pulse to grind. Wipe out skillet with a paper towel.

Place skillet back on medium heat and add the Extra virgin olive oil and diced onions and garlic. Season with some salt and gently sweat the onions for about 5 minutes until translucent. If the heat is too hot, turn it down, because you don't want to brown the onions. Add the chopped thyme and rosemary, stir gently and remove from the heat to cool.

In a large bowl, place the ground meats, eggs, bread crumbs, and Parmesan. When the onion mixture is cool, add that in, too. Gently mix with your bare hands. You want to incorporate all the ingredients, but not mix it too vigorously. The more you "work" the ground meats the tougher the meatloaf can become. When it is thoroughly and gently mixed, place the mixture into the loaf pan. Gently push it into the corners and even it out....you know to make it look like a loaf ;-).

Place meatloaf in the 400 degree oven and bake for 60 minutes. Rotate the loaf once, a half turn, half way through baking. After 60 minutes check the internal temperature and make sure it's 145 degrees at a minimum. This may take longer than 60 minutes depending on the exact proportions of your loaf pan. When the meatloaf reaches the desired temperature, remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Do not drain the juices that are around it. Some of that will suck back into the meatloaf.

Carefully remove the loaf from the pan with a spatula and slice with a sharp knife. Enjoy!

I make this a lot at work and usually serve it with steamed broccoli and double backed potatoes. but serve it with whatever you like.

Some variations that I have tried that are also very tasty involve changing the proportion and types of meats.

A more standard proportion would be:

2/3 LB Ground Beef, 10%

2/3 LB Ground Veal

2/3 LB Ground Pork

A more adventurous combination would be:

1 LB Ground Beef, 10%

1/2 LB Ground Pork

1/2 LB Ground Lamb

A word about ground meat. Find a good butcher that butchers their own meats. Freshly ground meat is far superior to some of the pre-packaged stuff I have seen in some stores. Usually, the butcher has some "bulk" ground beef on display; this is usually stuff they grind themselves. And most butchers with grind stuff fresh for you if they don't have any on hand.