Meatloaf Magic

Conventional wisdom advises against cooking something for the first time as a meal to serve to guests.  However, when you live in a two person household, a big meal isn't feasible for just a couple.  Friends of the Microcosm are forgiving and culinarily adventurous, so it's not a big risk.

The test meal was a two pound  meatloaf cooked in the Sous Vide.  It was made up the day before and set to cool in the fridge.  This concept was based on the idea that lasagna always taste better the second day and that meat is often more tender the next day as well.

The meat was a blend of regular fat and lower fat ground beef.  We prefer to mix lamb and ground beef, but Price Rite only had beef.  It is grass fed/free range, and the only type of already ground meat we'll buy.

Sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms, breadcrumbs, egg, feta cheese and spices were mixed into the meat.  The glop was shaped into a loaf and put into a freezer zippy.  It took a couple of hours at 135 degrees Fahrenheit.  The juice was drained off and saved for rewarming, while the loaf was sealed in plastic wrap and refrigerated over night. 

The loaf was browned under the  broiler in order to crisp it up, then it was sliced, covered with the strained reserved liquid and wrapped in foil.  It was warmed for 35 minutes but really needed 45.  The fat skimmed off the reserved liquid was the base for a gravy made from mixing in flour, then tomato paste, feta cheese and some liquid that didn't go over the meat.   The sides were seasoned baked potatoes and greek green beans.  The beans are cooked in a tomato and basil sauce, with feta cheese added at the end.

The slices were juicy, tender and flavorful -- as expected!  Cooking the loaf up ahead saved a lot of time the day we planned to serve it.  Making the meat dish in advance left room to prep the sides and get the house cleaned for guests.  The appetizer for the evening was home-made hummus.  This spread was made using tahini brought to us straight from Israel.  Israeli hummus is far superior to anything found in the US!

One of the best things about meat loaf, is sandwiches made from leftovers.  These slices were better than burgers!  Warmed under the broiler and served on flat-bread rounds, topped with humus and feta cheese, this follow-up lunch was a delicious use of the remaining meat.

After this successful meatloaf endeavor, we will be hard pressed to make hamburgers.  Starting with a meat loaf and then slicing off pieces to reheat produces burgers that are tender and cooked uniformly throughout.  Imagine just slapping one of these on a grill to heat/finish them -- and having a perfectly tender medium/rare patty is a lot easier than dealing with raw meat that sticks to the grill and often ends up charred.

We are Sous Vide fanatics in this house, and hopefully we've inspired others to give it a try too.