I love meatloaf. Done poorly, it’s dry, tasteless, and as boring as it looks. Done well, it’s rich, moist, and full of flavor – and still completely boring looking. No matter, though – even though it’s not going to win any beauty contests, this meatloaf is a good change of pace from your normal meat mound and has that magical ingredient that makes everything better. Bacon.

1.5 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1/2 lb fresh chorizo, casing removed (preferably not the pre-packaged kind)
4-5 slices of medium-thickness bacon
Various meatloaf spices/sauces to taste

Under normal circumstances, my meatloaf is a mixture of ground beef and pork, with random spices and sauces thrown into the mix. This value-added meatloaf was a one-off, a challenge if you will, to see if I could up the ante. It was upped, believe you me. In a large bowl, mix together the beef, pork and chorizo. Chances are it’ll take on a reddish hue, the color of the chorizo dominating over the other two meats. That’s cool.

From there, I add my stable of meatloaf must-haves, those being a palmful of breadcrumbs, a healthy amount of worcestershire sauce, some steak sauce, maybe a little ketchup. Follow with S&P and a little seasoning salts and combine. All of this is completely up to personal taste, so don’t feel obligated to stick with any of my choices here.

After mounding your meat, I like to cook my mound to reduce cleanup. A sheetpan covered with tinfoil is one good way to keep clean, but putting a cooling rack above the pan lets the meat cook out a good amount of fat without wallowing in it. This helps it be about as healthy as a meatloaf can be. Mound your loaf on the rack, and drape your bacon slices over the loaf. I usually use a ketchup glaze but bacon is just…well, bacon. What doesn’t it help?

After an hour or so in the oven at 350 degrees, make sure the internal temperature of your mound is up to about 160 degrees before serving. Plate with roasted red potatoes and green beans, and enjoy. Rachael Ray fans and detractors know that Ms. Ray always calls nutmeg “that thing that makes you go ‘hmmmm,’” but here, that chorizo will make you wonder what the hell is up with this meatloaf – it’s different, but good.

Tags: bacon, Beef, chorizo, meatloaf, meatmound, Pork

2 6 – 8 oz. sirloin steaks
1 minced shallot
1/4 cup beef broth
3 – 4 TBSP bourbon
1/2 TBSP butter

Add a small amount of butter to a cast iron frying pan. Sear each side of the steak then cook for 3 minutes a side. It’s actually kind of good if the meat sticks a little as it will add a lot of flavor to the sauce. Once the meat is slightly undercooked for your tastes, remove from pan and place into a warm oven (150 degrees or so). In the same pan used to cook the steaks add shallots and cook on medium to high heat until they begin to brown and stick to the pan. Add the first 1 or 2 tablespoons of bourbon, light the mixture and burn off the alcohol. Once the shallots are a deep caramelized brown add the broth and reduce the mixture under very high heat. Add a pinch of salt and the remaining bourbon, and once again burn off the alcohol. Once the mixture is reduced, melt in the butter. Once the sauce is reasonably thick, pour onto the steaks and serve.

You’ll want a wine with a little bit of a bite to it for this meal. I had a Barbaresco and it seemed to work just fine.

Tags: bourbon, quick, steak

In an effort to cook more efficiently, lately I’ve been trying to prepare meals that keep well in the freezer. The plan is to make large portions, eat some and freeze the rest. After a bit of searching around, I ran across a few recipes that seemed interesting and would store well. This is the first in what I hope will be a series of meals designed to keep one person fed for weeks. Here’s what you’ll need to put it together.

2 lbs. of beef cubes
2 T of oil
6 cups water
1 T salt
1 T black pepper
4 Cloves Garlic
2/3 cup pearl barley
2 Cups chopped onions
1/2 lbs. of sliced mushrooms
1 sliced bell pepper

Start by placing the oil in a large pan and bringing it up to temp over medium heat. Place the beef in the pan and cook until browned. Next, add 2 cups of water to the pan, cover with a tight fitting lid, and simmer for 60 minutes. Now add the barley, salt, pepper, garlic and the rest of the water to the pan, cover, and simmer for another 30 minutes. I know all this simmering seems to be eating up a lot of time, but trust me, its necessary to tenderize those tough beef cubes. After the second simmer, add the onions, mushrooms and bell pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Finally, we are ready to eat. Simply spoon into a bowl and you are ready to show down. To freeze, allow to cool then place in tupperware and make sure the lid snaps tight. This should keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When eating this for the first time, I immediately thought this would work better as a soup/stew. I think with a bit of hot broth, this could be even better and I plan to try that soon. I’ll let you know how it comes out. For now though, its a good, hearty, filling meal that’s most welcome at the end of a long, cold, winter day.

Enjoy,
-E

After a heavy dinner, a nice long concert and 7 open bars last night, I was in the mood for something nice and comforting. I started making Coneys (full name – Coney Island Hot Dog) Detroit Style a couple years ago when my Michigan-bred love of life requested her homestate hot dog concoction. There are two styles, Flint or Detroit: Flint Style is a drier meat mix, basically just seasoned ground beef – these are Detroit Style, a “wetter” chili sauce style.

Never having made them (or even eating them) prior to trying this recipe, I had no idea whether or not they would even be close to the real thing. Having done some field research to Flint area and Detroit area Coney joints, I’ve found that this is the closest thing to being there.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
14 oz. chicken broth
6 oz V8 juice
4 T. Flour
1 T. Chili powder
1 T. Paprika
1 T. Turmeric
1 T. Cumin
1 T. Chicken Bullion Powder (or three cubes, crushed)

Hot dogs with a natural casing – Koegel’s if possible
Hot dog buns
Yellow mustard
Diced onion (optional)

Brown the ground beef in a skillet. In a blender, mix together the broth, V8, flour and spices. Blend to combine, and add to the ground beef. Let reduce (about 10-15 minutes) and in the meantime, heat water for the dogs, dice the onion, sort through your mustard selection, pound aspirin for the headache, wonder exactly how you got home last night, and so on.

When the Coney sauce mixture is reduced, return half to the blender and puree. It’s not going to look good – but it’s going to taste good. Heat the dogs for 3-4 minutes, and top with Coney sauce, yellow mustard, and diced onion. Other options include a “loose only,” serving the sauce in the bun – no dog – or just out of a bowl, topped with mustard, like regular chili. Best part – it reheats perfectly, so make a ton and freeze it.

Tags: chili, coneys, detroit style, flint style, ground beef, hot dogs