Meat loaf

Reading The Joy of Cooking helps me to be informed about the use of various types of ground beef. According to the authors of the book, amount ground beef, ground sirloin contains about 15% fat, ground round has approximately 20% fat, ground chuck approximately 30%. Ground chuck has the best flavor and is the best for hamburgers, while the leaner ground round can be used for meat loaf and meatballs. Ground meat should always be cooked to the internal temperature of 160F. Uncooked ground meat should be stored for no more than 24 hours in the fridge. That's informative! The following is a recipe adapted from the Joy of Cooking.


Recipe: Meat loaf (one 9"x5" large loaf)

Ingredients:
- 1.5 lb (about 24 oz) ground beef chuck (20% fat, 80% lean)
- 3/4 cup onion, chopped
- 3/4 cup canned pimento pepper, chopped
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup catchup
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tps crushed oregano flakes
- 1 tp homemade dijon mustard

Procedure:
1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, kneading until just well blended.
2. Grease a 9"x5" loaf pan with shortening. Fill the pan with meat mixture. Press down lightly.
3. Bake at 350F for about 1.5 hour, until internal temperature reaches 160F.
4. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Results:
3:03pm, ingredients to be mixed:

3:06pm, mixing:

3:14pm, texture of the final mixture:

3:20pm, loaf pressed down into pan:

3:59pm, loaf baking in oven, generating a lot of steam:

4:37pm, loaf's look when baked about 40 minutes:

4:40pm, loaf's fat

4:41pm, loaf's temperature when baked 1 hour 10 minutes:

5:01pm, loaf's temperature after returning to oven for another 15 minutes:

5:01pm, loaf's top:

5:04pm, loaf's side after detaching from the pan with a knife:

5:15pm, loaf cooled 10 minutes:

5:16pm, loaf's bottom when turned out:

5:16pm, loaf's bottom stuck to the pan:

5:44pm, loaf flipped:

5:45pm, loaf's burnt side:

Next day, chilled loaf hardened and making slicing easier:

A triple beef hamburger from McDonald's

Few days later, I use the meat loaf to do a wrap of sesame leaves. Take a slice of the meat loaf. Wash about 5-7 sesame leaves. Wrap the leaves around the meat and place it in a baking pan. Pour some tomato sauce into the pan. Use a small saucer to press onto the top of the wrap to secure its shape. Then microwave the wrap for 30 seconds to soften the leaves. Once the leaves are softened, they will stay in good shape. Remove the saucer. Brush some tomato sauce on top of the leaves. Then bake at 450F for 5-10 minutes. The leaves will be crispy while the sauce is hot enough to bubble. Cut the wrap into smaller pieces and serve right away.

Observation:
1. This loaf does not have the cohesive, bread-like texture I hoped for.
2. The taste of ketchup and sauces is very strong in this loaf, somewhat over-powering the beef. I can also taste the soggy presence of bread crumbs. I make a comparison between the meat loaf and the beef in McDonald's hamburger, and find the latter taste more meaty and less fatty. When I examine the hamburger beef, I am greatly pleased that it's not burnt too. I guess, grilling actually melts away much of the fat, and the chef is so proficient that he/she has done it perfectly.
3. When I baked meatballs, a large amount of fat is drained off the meat. However, with this meat loaf, the fat mostly stays in the loaf.
4. The meat loaf holds together better after chilling. I try to pan-fry the slices of meat loaf after chilling it. Pan-frying does nothing to drain the fat. Instead, the sliced faces get browned.
5. The meat loaf seems to have developed much better flavor after overnight chilling.