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1
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a loaf pan.
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2
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl; your freshly washed hands are the best tools for the job.
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3
Pat into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
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4
Omit the Worcestershire sauce and mustard; in place of the milk, use 3/4 cup of juice from a can of tomatoes and add 1/4 cup minced parsley plus 1/2 teaspoon basil, crumbled.
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5
Pat into pan and cover with 3/4 cup of the tomatoes from the can, roughly chopped, or 3/4 cup tomato sauce.
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6
Omit the Worcestershire sauce and add 1/2 cup grated cheese.
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7
Meat Loaf with Bacon.
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8
After patting the loaf into the pan, cover with 4 strips uncooked bacon.
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9
Instead of 2 pounds ground beef, use 1 pound ground beef mixed with 2/3 pound ground veal and 1/3 pound ground pork.
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10
Red wine may be used instead of milk if desired.
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11
Bake 1 hour.
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12
Instead of using a loaf pan, pack the meat into muffin tins or Pyrex baking cups, top each with a square of bacon, and bake for only 25 minutes at 400 F. Turn out and serve with tomato sauce.
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13
For general purposes, use white bread, though whole wheat or rye crumbs add a robust touch to sturdy dishes like this.
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14
Do not use bread that is stale or the crumbs will have a stale taste.
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15
To make the 2 cups called for here will take about 4 slices of bread.
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16
Dry out the bread in a 250F oven, and use some of the crust, if you wish.
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17
After drying the bread, tear it into pieces and pulverize it in a blender or food processor.
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Or spread the pieces on a large piece of wax paper and crush with a rolling pin, going back and forth until the bread is reduced to crumbs.
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19
If you store bread crumbs in the refrigerator for more than a short period of time, they may become moldy.
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20
It's best to put them in the freezer, wrapped tightly in a plastic bag, where they will keep and taste fresh for several weeks.
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21
If you buy packaged bread crumbs, avoid the seasoned variety.
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22
Yes, with your hands.
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23
Mixing things with your (washed) hands is the best way to feel things and memorize them.
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24
Your fingers memorize recipes as much as your mind.
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25
You come to know what the texture of a given mixture should be, something you wouldn't learn if you had a piece of equipment between yourself and what you're doing.
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26
The same goes for tasting, though you should avoid tasting raw meat.
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27
It's amazing the number of times I've saved a dish, correcting something I've forgotten, by tasting at every stage.
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28
This is particularly important, for example, in cake batters.
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29
Meat loaf is one of those things dishes that can taste even more flavorful the next day.
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30
Try crumbling it and adding it to a simple pasta dish.
