NJ’s best meatloaf recipes from #MeatloafDay2017

One day, 12 meatloaf recipes. The first annual #MeatloafDay on the Bill Spadea Show was a success with several contestants, including New Jersey 101.5 staff members, friends of the show and NJ celebrities bringing in homemade recipes.

The meatloaves ranged from traditional recipes with hearty gravies featuring everything from mushrooms and garlic or espresso to Italian-style dishes. There was also one made with venison and then there was the winner of the competition: a spicy, chorizo-laced recipe made by NJ 101.5's Eric Scott.

Below are some of the recipes submitted by the contestants of #MeatloafDay2017, including Eric's winning recipe.

Eric Scott's Chorizo Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½  pound ground beef
½ pound ground pork
6 ounces soft Mexican chorizo, removed from casing and crumbled
Two 4-ounce cans diced roasted green chilies
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large eggs, well beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup sour cream or Mexican sour cream
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs

Sauté onion, carrot, celery and garlic in olive oil until soft. Blend all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Form into loaf or use a loaf pan.
 
Cook at 375 degrees for one hour.

For the sauce:
1 can roasted chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Dash of cayenne
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 garlic clove
Dash of smoked paprika
Sprig of fresh cilantro

Combine ingredients in a blender until smooth. Spoon on the side of sliced meatloaf.

Cara DiFalco

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 lbs meatloaf mix (Beef, Pork & Veal)
2 cups Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Reggiano Parmigiano
Chopped parsley
Salt & pepper
1 cup Marsala wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat bottom of pyrex dish with olive oil. Add hot water to the 2 cups of stuffing mix to soften. In a large bowl combine meat, softened stuffing, egg, cheese, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients well, form loaf and place in dish. Bake for 45 minutes, pour Marsala wine over meatloaf, cook another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest a few minutes before slicing.

Meatloaf for Big-Mouth Lawyers, by Elura Nanos

INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil (a little)
Butter (a little)
4 oz pancetta
1 medium onion (chopped)
6-8 baby carrots, or 2 big ones (chopped)
3-4 cloves real garlic that you peeled (chopped) – don’t use that jarred minced crap. If you have the pre-peeled garlic, go ahead and throw that stuff out right now. It’s useless.
5 lbs “meatloaf mix” (beef, pork and veal). Sure, you can do this with all beef or with (*shudder*) ground turkey, but don’t come crying to me when it’s not as good.
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs – yes, any kind will work.
½ packet onion soup mix (that powdered stuff)
3 oz tomato paste (half a small can)
A couple of shakes of worcestershire sauce
½ cup of whatever red wine you have laying around
About 1/3 cup grated romano cheese (asiago works too, but not parmesan)
About ¼ cup finely chopped fresh Italian, flat-leaf parsley
A big squeeze spicy mustard
Black pepper
3-4 oz sharp provolone cheese (diced or shredded)
A squeeze of ketchup

DIRECTIONS

Chop your onion, carrots, and garlic really small. If you were smart, you bought the cubed pancetta. If not so much, have fun chopping those slices.

Coat a frying pan with a little olive oil (or use a non-stick one). Sautée all the stuff you just chopped with 2-3oz of butter. When the onions start to get soft and everything begins to smell yummy, that means it’s time to take it off the stovetop.

Mix together your meat, the veggies you just sautéed, and the rest of the ingredients listed above. Feel free to use your hands. If that’s too gross, an electric mixer on low works too. I suppose a big spoon would work too, but if we’re being honest, that’s really inefficient.

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray (or coat with a little oil). Take the deliciousness you just mixed up and spread into the pan. Next, invert the meatloaf onto a baking sheet or baking pan. Once it’s inverted, if you’re feeling frisky, you can spread ketchup/cheese/parsley across the top to make it look nice. But, as with most things, what matters is already inside.

Bake at 350 degrees for like an hour. Start checking doneness around 45 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when you press into the top-middle and it’s about as soft as a Twinky. A little bit of bounce, but not so much that it’s hard. If your finger sinks into the middle easily, it means your meatloaf is still raw.

When it comes out, let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting. That’ll keep it juicy.

Jen's Souper-delicious meatloaf

INGREDIENTS
1-2 pounds ground meat (I use pork and beef)
1 can (10 ¾ oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup (You can use any kind. But I use Campbell’s with garlic. The garlic gives a nice kick)
1 pouch dry onion soup mix
½ cup dry Italian style bread crumbs (with oregano)
1 egg, beaten
Chopped fresh onion (as much or as little as you want. I’m Italian. I don’t measure)
¼ cup water

DIRECTIONS

Mix ½ cup soup, meat, dry onion soup mix, bread crumbs, egg and chopped onion. Shape firmly into a loaf. Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Mix 2-4 tbls of drippings, the remaining mushroom soup and water. Heat. Serve over the loaf for a nice creamy, mushroomy, garlicky taste.

Enjoy! Although I am Italian and make amazing meals on a regular basis, this simple but succulent meatloaf is my “go-to-comfort-food” for my son and me. It’s not fancy but it’s delish.

Good Times Hunting's Teriyaki Venison Meatloaf with a Venison baby Bella Mushroom Gravy, by Kevin Beetel

2 pounds ground venison
Three eggs
2 cups breadcrumbs
One, whole, diced Vadalia onion
1/2 cup of Veri Veri Teriyaki by Soy Yay
Couple dashes cayanne pepper
Couple dashes ground black pepper
Couple dashes mixed up salt
Couple dashes of garlic salt
(all dashes to your personal taste)

Mix all of your ingredients in a mixing bowl, preferably with exceptionally clean hands, and with love. Mold into a loaf and put it in your favorite meatloaf pan.  Coat the top of the loaf with teriyaki sauce. Bake on 350 for an hour and 15 minutes (ovens vary, so check on it after about an hour the first few times you make it).  

I used venison stock from venison Oso Buco. Put it into a sauce pan, add baby bella mushrooms and simmer until the mushrooms are tender. Then take cold water, mix in white flour slowly, and then use that to thicken your gravy, slowly stirring it in. I also add a few dashes of cayanne pepper, just because I want people wondering.

Remove your meatloaf and let it rest for as long as you can take it. Cut into 1 -nch slices of loveliness, slather on the gravy, and enjoy.

Patrick Lavery

I'm all about the Food Network so this is an Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipe adapted from the 1770 House in East Hampton.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 cups chopped Spanish onion (1 large)
1 1/2 cups small-diced celery (recipe says 2 stalks, I wound up using 4)
1 pound ground beef (I used 80% lean)
1 pound ground veal
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread flakes)
Garlic Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (You can do it this way, but because of my schedule, I assembled the meatloaf mixture ahead of time and left it to chill in the refrigerator before baking later on.)

Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent but not browned. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place the beef, veal, pork, parsley, thyme, chives, eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Put the panko in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until the panko is finely ground. Add the onion mixture and panko to the meat mixture. With clean hands, gently toss the mixture together, making sure it's combined but not compacted.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Pat the meat into a flat rectangle and then press the sides in until it forms a cylinder down the middle of the pan (this will ensure no air pockets). Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the middle reads 155 to 160 degrees. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve hot with the Garlic Sauce.

For the garlic sauce:

3/4 cup good olive oil
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade (STORE-BOUGHT IS FINE, Ina)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the oil and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Be careful not to burn the garlic or it will be bitter. Remove the garlic from the oil and set aside. (I will probably cook spaghetti with the oil and parmesan this weekend).

Combine the chicken stock, butter, and cooked garlic in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook at a full boil for 35 to 40 minutes, until slightly thickened. Mash the garlic with a fork, whisk in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and taste for seasonings. (I find that a 35 to 40 minute full boil reduces the sauce far too much, so feel free to bring the heat way down, or if you've already reduced quite a bit, add a few more splashes of chicken stock until you reach desired consistency. I was left with about 1/2 cup of sauce total.)

Spoon the warm sauce over the meatloaf.

Robert Bianch's “Meatloaf Italian Style”

It’s meatloaf recipe rolls like meatballs and soaked in Italian GRAVY (or as other call it...“sauce”). Makes 14 servings (balls).

INGREDIENTS

Meatloaf part:

2 lbs meatloaf mix (beef, pork, veal)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 eggs
1.5 medium onion chopped
FRESH parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients together. Form into balls. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Turn, bake another 15 minutes. Place in gravy to absorb into meatloaf. 

For the gravy:

“Simpler is better” Mom always said!

Sauté lots of garlic in olive oil. When the garlic is just about done, add a healthy dose of pre-mixed Italian mixed seasoning blend. Add five cans of crushed tomatoes as well as salt and hot Italian red pepper flakes, to taste. Adding some grated cheese (parmesan or romano) gives some awesome flavor, but it's optional. Add one small package of sugar (about a teaspoon).

Bring it to a boil. Place the meatloaf balls in the gravy and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off and allow to cool slightly.

Dress it up by serving with some Italian mashed potatoes or bow tie pasta.

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