Meatloaf is a food with a name that is entirely too vague for my liking. What meat, exactly, is it? And why must it be camouflaged in a loaf?
Much like the Healthier Chicken Cordon Bleu I posted a few weeks ago, meatloaf is a dish I never had any interest in. I freely admit that I avoided the food specifically because it has a name that tells you absolutely nothing about the contents. You might as well insert “mystery” before the “meatloaf” and, I have to tell you, that just doesn’t work for me.
Despite my aversion, the family kept asking for it. Knowing that I would want to eat it after the length of time it takes to cook (and smells up the entire house with deliciousness) I set out to transform this diner blue plate favorite into something less vague and far more unique.
After years of playing with different combinations of mix ins, I settled on cheese and barbecue sauce as the primary flavor drivers. Breadcrumbs and an egg give it the glue to stay together, and fresh parsley adds flavor without being visibly green in the loaf so even the vegetable avoiders in your house won’t know it’s in there. Add in a pound of ground beef and a half pound of ground pork and you have Cheesy Barbecue Meatloaf.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1 cup finely chopped sweet Vidalia onion
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning (I like Badia with its unique mixture of spices including rosemary)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 cup finely grated mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup finely grated Asiago cheese
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees and grease a loaf pan.
- In a medium frying pan, saute onion until soft and browned to your liking.
- While onions are cooking, prep the rest of the ingredients so you can dump them into the meat mixture without getting your hands all over your containers and measuring utensils. Better yet, can I suggest asking someone who is looking forward to eating the meatloaf to dump while you keep your hands in the meat?
- Combine 1/2 cup barbecue sauce and 1 T Dijon mustard in a small bowl, set aside.
- Combine cheeses in a small bowl, set aside.
- Beat egg in small bowl, set aside.
- Combine breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, black pepper and parsley in small bowl; set aside.
- When onions are done, add them to the meat in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mush it up until combined.
- Add barbecue sauce/mustard mixture and cheeses; combine with meat.
- Add egg and combine.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs and seasoning over the top of the meat mixture and combine.
- Form into loaf shape and put in pan.
- Combine remaining 2 T barbecue sauce and 1 T Dijon mustard. Spread on top of loaf before placing in oven.
- Cook 60 minutes or until internal temperature is 160 degrees. I usually wait a few minutes to slice it after it comes out of the oven.
Enjoy!
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