Meatloaf

Ingredients:
3 slices white sandwich bread
⅓ cup whole milk
1½ pounds ground beef chuck
½ pound ground pork
½ medium onion, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
½ cup ketchup
coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400̊. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil or parchment paper. Place bread in food processor; pulse until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in milk. Set aside, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine beef, pork, onion, garlic, egg, ¼ cup ketchup, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add bread-milk mixture, and mix very gently with a fork (do not overmix).

If you usually bake meatloaf in a loaf pan, you’ll be surprised to see what a nice crust it gets when it’s shaped free-form and cooked on a baking sheet. Place meat mixture on prepared baking sheet, and form into a loaf about 9 inches long and 4 to 5 inches wide.

Bake, brushing twice with remaining ketchup during baking, until an instant-read thermometer registers 160̊, 45 to 55 minutes. Let meatloaf rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving. It’s fun to jazz it up a bit bay baking with a topping of smoky bacon, sweet onions or cheese. For these toppings omit brushing with ketchup.

Bacon: Before baking, lay 8 slices bacon crosswise over meatloaf, slightly overlapping. Using a thin metal spatula or dinner knife, tuck ends of bacon under meatloaf.

Crispy onions: Before baking, toss 1 halved and thinly sliced small onion with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle on top of meatloaf, pressing in slightly (onions will be piled quite high).

Cheddar: Before forming meatloaf, gently mix ½ cup finely grated cheddar into meat mixture. Before baking, sprinkle another ½ cup cheese on top of meatloaf.