Meatloaf Ala Bah Bah (that’s me!)

By now, we all know I’m a bit of a weirdo (and a perfectionist) when it comes to cooking. The way I make my meatloaf is a tad different than most in that I do not mix my ingredients in a bowl. (This is born from my experience with catering for large groups. It’s impossible to mix the ingredients for meatloaf for 100 in a bowl, so I always use a huge baking sheet.) The first time I tried this method at home, it worked so beautifully, I’ve not used a bowl since. The reasoning behind it is pretty simple. It’s just easier to get the meats and the seasonings uniformly distributed using this method.

I used to substitute oatmeal for breadcrumbs in my meatloaf recipes until that one time I forgot to put them in and it ended up being the best meatloaf ever. Now I skip them completely. Instead, I use extra eggs to hold everything together. Yes, the consistency going into the oven is slightly more wet, (and more work) but it works out just fine.

Wait. Did she just say, “…more work”? Relax. It’s just a couple of extra steps to siphon out the liquid as it builds up during baking. (Doesn’t that sound appetizing? Here, your turkey baster will be your friend.)

Meatloaf Ala Bah Bah

(Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. ground beef (80/20 for best flavor)

1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage

1 lb. ground mild Italian sausage

1 Pkg Lipton Onion Soup mix

1 medium onion diced however you like it

1/2 c. minced fresh parsley (Take the time and use the FRESH stuff. It DOES make a difference!

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup Ketchup (I like Primal Kitchen’s Sugar free)

3 eggs

1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Rays Hickory & Brown Sugar is yummy)

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. On a large baking sheet, break up the ground beef and spread it, then break up the sausages so they are evenly distributed. If a baking sheet scares you, use a bowl, but trust me on this…a baking sheet allows for easier mixing and even distribution of ingredients.
3. Sprinkle the soup mix, onion, parsley, Italian seasoning, olive oil, ketchup, eggs and salt and pepper evenly over the meat. (Basically everything but the Barbecue sauce.)
4. Using your hands, mix all of it together and then spread it back out across the baking sheet once more.
5. Drizzle thin streams of the barbecue sauce over the meat. Salt and pepper once more. Mix again and then form it into a loaf inside a standard loaf pan.
6. Put the meatloaf into your freezer for 20 minutes.
7. Put into preheated oven, uncovered for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, turn temperature down to 375.
9. Using a turkey baster, remove the juices that have accumulated. Brush on a thin coating of Barbecue sauce. Return to oven for 30 minutes.
10. Remove from oven, siphon the juices once more, re-apply the barbecue sauce, cook for 5-10 minutes more. Repeat siphoning juices and applying barbecue, then broil on high for two minutes.
11. Let the meat rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes before serving.