Farmhouse meatloaf
on November 24, 2010
When I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, Monday was always “Wash Day.” Until my parents purchased an automatic washer and dryer in 1960, that meant putting the clothes through the wringer washer and carrying heavy baskets of wet laundry to the clothesline to be hung out.
Consequently, my mother was exhausted on Mondays and needed to serve a meal that required minimal hassle for her, but was hearty for a farm family. I knew when I came home from school that dinner would be my mother’s Meatloaf with a side dish of Oven Baked Potatoes. Though I haven’t continued the tradition of Monday Wash Day, I do still follow my mother’s tradition of serving meatloaf on Monday.
Bowing to our more health conscious lifestyle, I have modified this recipe, substituting the lean ground turkey for the mixture of half ground beef and half ground pork that my mother used. My mother’s generation also did not partially cook the bacon used atop the meatloaf, but using the bacon uncooked does not result in fully cooked bacon, so be sure to fry/microwave the bacon slightly prior to covering your meatloaf with it.
If Summer Savory is unavailable, I substitute Penzey’s Bavarian Seasoning (available online) for the Summer Savory and Pepper. Bavarian Seasoning is a blend of rosemary, pepper, garlic, and thyme.
Ingredients:
- 2 and 1/2 lbs. lean ground turkey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 c. milk
- 1/2 c. unseasoned bread crumbs
- 1/2 small onion, minced
- 1/4 tsp. dried summer savory
- pepper, to taste
- 3 slices partially cooked bacon
- your favorite barbecue sauce
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Gently knead together all ingredients, except the bacon and barbecue sauce and place mixture in a loaf pan.
- Pat mixture into the shape of a loaf.
- Cover with the bacon arranged lengthwise over your loaf.
- Baste with the barbecue sauce, until loaf is completely covered with sauce.
- Bake for 1 and 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.
Want to share your own recipe? Email it to becca.friedman@richmondconfidential.org with the subject “Richmond Cooks”. Don’t forget a title, ingredients, directions, serving size, and a little about how the recipe came to you. Bon Apetit!
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