Chili-Glazed Meatloaf Sandwiches

It somehow seems vaguely inappropriate to be posting about meat for Valentine’s Day.

[PS – if someone wants to buy me this, feel free]

While I’m not planning on celebrating the ol’ day-o-love, I am planning on going out to dinner. Why? Because I’ll be hungry. My hunger doesn’t stop just because it’s February 14th. I’m hoping to re-create equally hilarious Valentine’s Day dinners gone by that involve completely empty, fully decorated Thai restaurants where the owners thought Andrew dined and ditched me or Ethiopian restaurants that insist on a someone playing love ballads on a Casio keyboard. I cannot make this stuff up. These are the kinds of things that happen when you don’t try to make things happen, and I’m all the better for it. Memories, people, memories.

This meatloaf is my new favorite meatloaf [sorry, mom]. This meatloaf reached high honors from Andrew, especially when I pan fried a thick slab of the leftovers and threw it between fresh rosemary focaccia, sliced Manchego cheese, and sautéed mushrooms. Ah-mazing.

You use grated potato and crushed Ritz crackers as your binder. Genius, I say. I kind of thought the potato might be a little too wet, and I did have a lot more liquid than I was used to when it baked out, but it definitely wasn’t a problem. It didn’t make things soggy or affect the taste. It was dang delicious. The chili ketchup can be as spicy as you want it, since you’re mixing it yourself, but it really doesn’t bring much in the way of heat. If you’re thinking a two pound meatloaf is ridiculous for two people like I did, make it anyway. Meatloaf sandwiches are the best thing ever. EVER.

Inspiration: Things We Make

Ingredients

• 2lbs ground beef
• 1 potato, peeled and grated [about the size of a baseball — how’s that for accurate]
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 ounces melted butter
• 2 ounces milk
• 1/4 cup chili ketchup [mix hot sauce with ketchup]
• 130g of Ritz crackers, crushed [if you don’t have a scale, do some simple math based on the number of grams on the box]
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350° and line a 9″x5″ bread pan with foil. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together except for a tablespoon or two of the ketchup. Only when it’s thoroughly combined, squish the contents into the pan and flatten it out with your hands. Place into the oven for 90 minutes. If you’re worried about leaking, place a baking sheet underneath it. I didn’t have any issues, though.

The internal temperature of a meatloaf should be about 160°. I’m convinced that checking for this more so than the timing contributed to the best texture. When you pull it out, brush the remainder of the ketchup while it’s still hot.