Meatloaf

This article is about the meat dish. For the singer, see Meat Loaf.

A meatloaf served with sauce.

Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat formed into a loaf shape and baked or smoked. The loaf shape is formed by either cooking it in a loaf pan, or forming it by hand on a flat baking pan.^[1] It is usually made from ground beef, although lamb, pork, veal, venison, and poultry or a combination are also used.

History

The meatloaf has European origins; meatloaf of minced meat was mentioned in the famous Roman cookery collection Apicius as early as the 5th century.^[2] Meatloaf is a traditional German, Belgian and Dutch dish, and it is a cousin to the Italian meatball. American meatloaf^[3] has its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times.^[3] However, meatloaf in the contemporary American sense did not appear in cookbooks until the late 19th century.^[1]

Dish

Many meatloaf recipes are interchangeable with meatball recipes, the distinction coming from shape and from the accompaniments or choice of sauce. Sometimes tomato sauce or ketchup is in the meat and baked along with the meat.

Meatloaf is a versatile dish. The ground meat may be mixed with a binder such as eggs and breadcrumbs, small pieces of bread soaked in milk (or red wine or another liquid), or wheat germ, finely ground almonds, or oatmeal, to make it more dough-like. Salt, spices and herbs (such as parsley), as well as chopped vegetables (such as onions, green peppers and celery), may also be added. Some recipes add strips of bacon on top.^[4][5] Meatloaf may be filled with eggs, cheese, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, or a combination of these ingredients. Sometimes meatloaf is made by adding meat and sometimes also eggs to a meatloaf mix before baking. A regular oven is not required. Meatloaf can be cooked in a slow cooker or in a microwave oven. To ensure even cooking in a microwave oven, it is best cooked invidual portions (for instance, in a mug) or as a small loaf.^{[citation needed]}

International variations

Sekaná, from preparation to cooked

Austria

The Austrian meatloaf version is called Faschierter Braten. Most of the time it is not filled (e.g., in Germany), but it is wrapped in ham before baking it. It is often served with mashed potatoes (when warm) or with sauce cumberland (when cold).

Denmark

Danish meatloaf is called forloren hare (i.e. "mock hare") or "farsbrød" (i.e. "mince-meat bread") and is usually made from a mixture of ground pork and beef with strips of bacon or cubed bacon on top. It is served with boiled or mashed potatoes and brown sauce sweetened with red currant jelly.^[6]

Germany

In Germany, meatloaf is referred to as Hackbraten, Faschierter Braten or Falscher Hase (i.e. "mock hare"). It often has boiled eggs inside.^[7]

Hungary

Stefania meatloaf (Hungarian: Stefánia szelet)^[8] or Stefania slices are a type of Hungarian long meatloaf baked in a loaf pan, with 3 hard boiled eggs in the middle, making decorative white and yellow rings in the middle of the slices.

Italy

In Italy, meatloaf is called polpettone and can be filled with eggs or ham and cheese.^{[citation needed]}

Jewish cuisine

In Jewish cuisine, meatloaf is called Klops (Hebrew: קלופס‎) and can be served cold or hot. It is sometimes filled with whole boiled eggs.^[9] The source of the word might be German, Klops, meaning meatball.

Macedonia

Rolat is a similar dish to the chiefly Arab, though also Persian and South-Asian, kofta. Ground beef is rolled and cooked until brown. It can be cooked with vegetables and various sauces.

Philippines

There is a meatloaf dish called embotido made of well seasoned ground pork, minced carrots, sausages, and whole boiled eggs. The meat is molded into a roll with the sausages and hard boiled eggs set in the middle. It is then wrapped in aluminum foil (historically, banana leaves) and steamed for an hour. The cooked embotido may be stored in freezers. It is usually served fried and sliced for breakfast.

Romania

In Romanian cuisine, there is a meatloaf dish called drob, similar to other minced meat dishes in the region like the Bulgarian Rulo Stefani or the Hungarian Stefánia meatloaf, the major difference being that it's always made with lamb organs (or a mixture of lamb organs and pork or veal) and the hard boiled eggs in the centre of the drob are optional.

Bulgaria

Rulo Stefani (Bulgarian: Руло Стефани).^[10] The Bulgarian rulo Stefani meatloaf is similar to the Hungarian Stefánia meatloaf, with hard boiled eggs in the middle.

Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, meatloaf is referred to as sekaná (i. e. "chopped", adjective). It is optional to put hard boiled eggs, gherkin or wiener wurst inside.

Greater Middle East

Kafta or kofta is a similar dish which the mixture can be made into hamburgers and kebabs. It usually has parsley in it.

United States

In 2007, meatloaf was voted the seventh favorite dish in the United States according to Good Housekeeping.^[2]

During the Great Depression, cooking meatloaf was a way to stretch the food budget for families, using an inexpensive type of meat and other ingredients as leftovers; along with spices,^[3] it was popular to add cereal grains to the meatloaf to stretch the meat. The tradition lives on with the merits of producing a lower-fat dish with superior binding and consistency.

The meatloaf is typically eaten with some kind of sauce or relish. Many of these recipes^[11] call for pasta sauce or tomato sauce to be poured over the loaf to form a crust during baking. The tomato-based sauce may be replaced with simple brown gravy or onion gravy, but the meatloaf is prepared in a similar manner. Barbecue sauce, tomato ketchup, or a mixture of both tomato ketchup and mustard may also be used. American meatloaf may be garnished with ketchup.

Another variety of meatloaf is prepared by frosting it with mashed potatoes, drizzling it with a small amount of butter, and browning in the oven.

The meatloaf is normally served warm as part of the main course, but can also be found sliced as a cold cut. Meatloaf can also be considered a typical comfort food and is served in many diners and restaurants today.

See also

• Hamburger
• Salisbury steak
• Swiss steak
• Meatball
• Groaty pudding
• Haggis
• Red pudding
• Meat Loaf
• Haslett

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Zeldes, Leah A. (2009-09-02). "Eat this! Meatloaf, easy comfort". Dining Chicago. Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc.. http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/06/30/eat-this-meatloaf-easy-comfort/. Retrieved 2010-08-03. 
2. ^ ^{a b} newcitychicago
3. ^ ^{a b c} Meatloaf history in US
4. ^ Wolfgang's Bacon-Wrapped Meat Loaf
5. ^ Meatloaf with Bacon Strips
6. ^ (Danish) Min far's forloren Hare, FÅS IKKE BEDRE
7. ^ (German) Omas Rezept für falscher Hase
8. ^ Stefánia meatloaf
9. ^ Samuel Cohen (in Hebrew). המטבח היהודי של שמוליק כהן [Shmoolik Cohen's Jewish Cuisine]. Modan. p. 82. 
10. ^ Рецепта за руло Стефани
11. ^ Meatloaf