Dan and I came in from a day of yard work the other day, which mostly was the job of raking cottonwood leaves left behind from last fall. Backs aching and stomachs growling I made the comment that I would do anything for a cold meatloaf sandwich. Dan agreed. Exhausted, we settled for a bowl of cereal instead and went to bed. But, I knew if I was going to get any additional help from Dan or others, I would have to serve up more then cold cereal. Growing up on a farm we would often come in exhausted as above. My mother would always have a hot meal waiting, and many of those meals were memorable. As I got older, it was my turn at kitchen chores, and one of my early, memorable culinary, bring them to the table dishes was, meatloaf. My younger brother and sister confirmed this by being present at the table, when they knew it was on the menu. It gave me such pleasure to know I was making them happy. Many years later, I was having lunch at my friend Dan Miller’s new restaurant in Deadwood, SD. Dan is a great artist and wonderful chef. When I asked him what to order, he said: “Have the meatloaf sandwich, it’s delicious”. Not only was it delicious, it was memorable. With the promise of my famous meatloaf for dinner last Saturday, I was able to recruit help from Dan, my son Lucas, my daughter Jilian and her fiancé Colton. We had a great day filled with work, moans, groans, laughter…and, as promised, meatloaf. Below is my 30 + year old recipe for meatloaf, plus a few concoctions for meatloaf sandwiches. I hope it brings them to the table for you too. Happy spring everyone! Jill Check out Jill’s Recipe for Buffalo Meatloaf Here
Buffalo Meatloaf
Serves 8 people or 5 yard workers. Ingredients: 2 – pounds Wild Idea Ground Buffalo 2 – eggs 1½ – teaspoons dry mustard 1 – teaspoon chili powder ½ – teaspoon thyme ½ – teaspoon salt ½ – teaspoon pepper 1 – tablespoon dry parsley 1 – teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce ¾ – cup milk 2 – slices dry bread, crumbled 1 – small onion, diced 1½ – cup stewed tomatoes, chopped ¼ – cup ketchup Preparation: Mix eggs and spices together. Wisk in milk. Mix in Ground Buffalo meat Add bread crumbs, stewed tomatoes and onion and mix thoroughly Shape in oval and place in loaf pan, rounding top slightly. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, brush with ketchup and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes. * Serve with baked potatoes and minted spring peas. *Optional: Organic Bacon can be added after 30 minutes of cooking. Brush with ketchup as above. Meat Loaf Sandwich Options: Jill: Crusty bread, plum jam, mayonnaise, jalapenos, peperoncini. Dan: Wheat bread, double mayonnaise, light mustard, Irish cheddar. Lucas: French bread, B.B.Q. sauce, coleslaw or thinly sliced cabbage. Jilian: Wheat Hamburger Bun, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. Colton: Sourdough bread, thin slices of red onion, Swiss cheese, mayonnaise. Wine Pairing: B&G, Bistro – Pinot Noir, France Easy drinking picnic or casual dinner wine. It’s what we had on hand, and went great with the meal.