Recipe

Cajun Meat Loaf

Recipe
1 Question

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Meatloaf
Chef
drbabs's Notes: I used to have a friend with whom I cooked on a regular basis. We found a recipe for "cajun meat loaf"--I have no idea where--and doctored it till we liked it. What makes it "cajun" is the...
I used to have a friend with whom I cooked on a regular basis. We found a recipe for "cajun meat loaf"--I have no idea where--and doctored it till we liked it. What makes it "cajun" is the use of the "holy trinity"--celery, onions and bell pepper. I found the recipe as we last made it (I'm guessing around 1990) written in pencil on a piece of note paper. I've made a few changes over the years. The cayenne pepper in the sauce and the Tabasco in the meat loaf both contribute a lot of heat--feel free to adjust to your liking. I use Pomi crushed tomatoes unless it's summer and I can get good tomatoes--but meat loaf is really more of a winter dish-- to me anyway.

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Serves 4 with leftovers for sandwiches

Cajun Meat Loaf Sauce:

1 box Pomi crushed tomatoes, about 14 ounces Ask a question about this ingredient

2 Bay Leaves Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon black pepper Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 teaspoon cumin Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 teaspoon sugar Ask a question about this ingredient

Pour tomatoes into saucepan and add all the rest of the ingredients. Let simmer together while meatloaf is cooking. Adjust seasoning to taste. Remove bay leaves before serving.
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Meat Loaf:

4 tablespoons olive oil Ask a question about this ingredient

3/4 cups finely chopped onion Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup finely chopped celery Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup chopped scallions (which are called green onions in the original recipe--that's what they're called in Cajun cooking.) Ask a question about this ingredient

2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press Ask a question about this ingredient

3-5 drops Tabasco (up to a teaspoon if you like things really hot) Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup milk Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup ketchup Ask a question about this ingredient

1 1/2 pound lean ground beef Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 pound ground pork (you can use all beef if you prefer.) Ask a question about this ingredient

2 eggs, lightly beaten Ask a question about this ingredient

1 cup fresh bread crumbs Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper Ask a question about this ingredient

Preheat oven to 350. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil.
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Saute onion, bell pepper, scallions and celery over medium heat till softened. Add a few dashes of salt. Stir in garlic and saute briefly, but don't let garlic burn. Let cool.
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Mix together meat, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, milk, ketchup till thoroughly blended. Add eggs and bread crumbs and mix well. Stir in sauteed vegetables, salt and pepper and mix well. Mixture should be well-blended and tightly packed.
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Form mixture into a loaf and place on cookie sheet. (This makes a dark brown crust, which is much more to my liking than if it's baked in a loaf pan.) Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes.
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Serve slices of meat loaf with sauce on each plate.
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