Beef meatloaf
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: 30 min
- Cook time: 1 h 30 min
- Serving: 4
- Cost: Average
PRESENTATION
Beef Meatloaf gets its unusually tender crumb from two ingredients that don't always show up in American versions: mashed potato and stale bread soaked in milk. Both work into the mixture to keep every slice soft without any filler flavor, while parsley adds the quiet herbal note that makes a homemade polpettone smell like Sunday.
As the loaf bakes, baste it with broth every so often — it stays juicy and the pan builds up drippings worth keeping. Stir a little cornstarch into those drippings and you have a quick, savory pan sauce ready to spoon over each slice. Roasted potatoes alongside make the most natural pairing, though seasonal vegetables sautéed in a pan work just as well if you want something lighter.
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- INGREDIENTS
- Ground beef 1.75 lbs (800 g)
- Potatoes 0.9 lb (400 g)
- Eggs 1
- Pecorino cheese 3 oz (80 g)
- Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese 1.8 oz (50 g)
- Stale bread 2 cups (110 g)
- Meat broth 1 cup (250 g)
- Whole milk 0.4 cup (100 g)
- Parsley to taste
- Cornstarch 2 tsp (5 g)
- Water 2 tsp (10 g) - cold
- Fine salt to taste
How to prepare Beef meatloaf
To prepare the beef meatloaf, first boil the whole potatoes 1 for about 3060 minutes, until tender. Cut the bread into cubes 2 and soak it in the milk 3 while the potatoes cook.
Once cooked, pass the potatoes with the skins through a potato ricer 4 to reduce them to a pure9e 5. Add the wellsqueezed bread 6.
Salt 7, add the ground beef 8 and chopped parsley 9.
Season with grated pecorino 10 and Parmesan 11, then add the egg 12.
Pepper 13 and knead with your hands until you obtain a homogeneous mixture 14. Transfer the mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper 15.
Shape it into a log 16, roll it in the paper 17 to press it, then transfer it to a baking dish 18.
Add the beef broth 19 and bake for 5055 minutes, spooning the broth over the meatloaf halfway through cooking 20. The meatloaf will be ready when it is nicely browned 21.
Transfer the cooking juices to a small saucepan 22 and let the meatloaf cool 23. Once the meatloaf has cooled slightly, slice it 34.
Dissolve the cornstarch in cold water 25, whisking with a whisk 26, then pour it into the meatloaf's cooking juices 27.
Bring to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens. Serve the beef meatloaf with the hot sauce 29 30.