Recipe

Dinner Party Meatloaf

Dinner Party Meatloaf

Photo by gabrielaskitchen

  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Meatloaf
  • Chef

    gabrielaskitchen's Notes: Last November I found myself chuckling out loud while reading about a Thanksgiving dinner showdown between New York Times food writers Kim Severson and Julia Moskin. Kim was all bird and...

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Serves 8

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Tear bread into about 1 centimeter size pieces, removing the crust. Spread bread on baking sheet and place in oven for 5-7 minutes until slightly toasted. Remove from oven and set aside in a medium-size mixing bowl. Evenly pour ¼ cup milk over bread in mixing bowl.

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  2. Now, prep all of the ingredients that will be sautéed in batches. The following should be diced into approximately ½ centimeter pieces and kept in separate pep bowls: pancetta, red onion, shallots, oyster mushrooms, and pears.

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  3. Cook the pancetta in a large skillet on medium heat, slowly and steadily until fat is rendered and pancetta is slightly crisp, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from skillet and add to medium size mixing bowl with the bread.

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  4. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet and cook the red onion and shallots on medium heat until transparent, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from skillet and add to the mixing bowl.

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  5. Add 2 more tablespoons butter and the mushrooms to the skillet and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. And as Ms. Julia Child used to say: “Don’t crowd the mushrooms or they won’t get brown!” (You may have to cook in two batches, depending on the size of your skillet). Add to mixing bowl.

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  6. Now deglaze the pan by adding ½ cup red wine to the skillet. Cook on medium heat while scrapping the brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon until the wine has reduced by about half. Evenly pour reduced wine in to mixing bowl.

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  7. Add yet another 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Sautee the diced pears plus 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly dispersed on medium high heat until they begin to caramelize slightly. Add to the mixing bowl.

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  8. Combine ground turkey plus the herbs, lemon zest and salt to taste (about 1/2 - 1 teaspoon) to the the mixing bowl ingredients and knead for about 1 minute, until fully incorporated.

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  9. Lightly butter a loaf pan and transfer meatloaf mixture to the pan. Sprinkle the top of the meatloaf with breadcrumbs and any remaining diced pears (optional).

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  10. Cook at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, return to oven at 325 degrees for 20-25 more minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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Lnd_jen Reply

Don't know if you saw but Kim tweeted a link to this today!

Gaby_by_sarah Reply

Thanks so much for letting me know!

Reply

I can't wait to try your meatloaf recipe! The Thanksgiving smackdown between Kim and Julia was hilarious. My guests enjoyed my heritage turkey, but said Julia's stuffing was the best they ever had.

As you say: "It is a perfect way to make amends between bird and breadcrumbs." And with Kim since I also sided with Moskin - even though Kim's my favorite food writer.

Gaby_by_sarah Reply

It's one of my all time favorite food articles, for sure. Turns out the stuffing was Kim's recipe, my memory failed me...the stuffing came with the bird! So without knowing it Kim hedged her bets and made the best part of the feast! Hope you enjoy the meatloaf; let me know how you like it when you do.

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