Chef Paul Wilson's ultimate meatloaf recipe

ONCE regarded as a thrifty, Depression-era dish, meatloaf is bubble and squeak for carnivores.

meatloaf

ONCE regarded as a thrifty, Depression-era dish, meatloaf is bubble and squeak for carnivores.

Recipe: Bubble and squeak with cheesy toast

Recipe: Basic roast beef and vegetables

Just use up any fridge leftovers in the mix, or make a flash version using any meat that takes your fancy, from your traditional beef, veal or pork to modern options such as kangaroo and duck.

Just about every country has its own meatloaf recipe says chef Paul Wilson, explaining that in Mexico's Yucatan region, it's flavoured with chorizo sausage, smoked chillies and condensed milk.

The Italians call it polpettone, while Shane Bailey, chef at Berardo's in Noosa, quips that "French terrines using mince are just meatloaf".

"It's comfort food that makes you smile and relax," Paul says. "I love it because it reminds me of my mother's cooking. She used to make it once a week and that nice smell would fill the house."

Romeo Badouin, a Sydney charcutier with 20 years experience, says that in France, every region makes pate de campagne, the Gallic meatloaf made from ground pork and bacon, adding local flavours.

Australians love it too. It's among the top five recipe searches on taste.com.au

THE PERFECT MEATLOAF

THINK it's just a matter of baking mince in a tin? Wrong! That's how you make a brick.

While meatloaf is relatively easy to make, MasterChef winner Julie Goodwin warns it can be dry and flavourless. Her secret is adding good quality sausages to the mince.

"Buy butcher-made Italian or pork sausages and that way you know it's proper meat," she says.

You need to both lighten and moisten the dish. Fillers such as breadcrumbs, bread or rice aren't just a thrifty way of making the dish go further, they also lighten the density and add texture. Vegetables can also do the job.

"Grated carrot and zucchini also mean you can hide vegies from the kids," Julie says.

Romeo Badouin says it's important to get the right balance of lean meat and fat.

As a rule of thumb, he uses about 30 per cent pork fat to keep the dish moist.

"Use pork loin or shoulder/back fat, because it has a higher melting point and you still want marbling in terrine to keep it moist," he says.

Romeo and Shane agree that meatloaf doesn't have to be a humble dish.

"Your meatloaf is only going to be as good as the quality of the meat you put in," Shane says. "Don't use standard mince. Get your butcher to cut up a better quality cut of meat and mince it. Go for something with a bit of flavour, such as rump." Romeo says be careful how it's chopped. "Have a good mincer, because you don't want to destroy it," he says.

And finally, don't cook it too fast. After an initial blast of high heat, Romeo cooks his in a bain marie (water bath) for up to four hours.

SHAPE

MEATLOAF is meatballs reshaped. And like bread, you can make it freeform, in a loaf tin or wider and shallower cake tin even a ring tin. It's up to you and your imagination, although if you're planning to stud the meatloaf with special ingredients such as eggs or livers, a tin will hold things in place. Wrapping the mix in caul - a "net" of fat available at the butcher - is also a good way of keeping its shape too.

Paul Wilson says the loaf format is best.

"Use a shallow loaf tin rather than high terrine, or if you do, only half fill it."

FLAVOURS

JULIE adds curry powder and tomato sauce and wraps it in streaky bacon. She also glazes it with barbecue sauce, maple syrup or chutney. "It helps keep it moist and adds a really nice sticky sweetness."

Paul likes to pour a reduced bacon or chicken stock over the meatloaf while it's still in the tin, then let it set so it has a jelly coating. "It's hard to go past fresh herbs, garlic and Dijon mustard," he says. "And line the tin with bacon."

Shane says you can take any meat dish you can think of and turn it into meatloaf.

He suggests an Italian-style meatloaf "saltimbocca". Two-thirds veal and one-third pork mince, with chopped pancetta through it, seasoned with sage, lemon zest and roasted garlic, and wrapped in prosciutto.

HOW TO SERVE IT

MEATLOAF'S versatility is part of its appeal. Dinner one night, school sandwiches for lunch the next day, it can be served hot or cold. It's the leftovers dish that then gets another life as a leftover again.

If you think of meatloaf as a terrine, it's the perfect picnic food, but there's also no reason why you can't serve it whole like a Christmas meal, surrounded by roast vegetables, for a dinner party.

ON THE SIDE

CHEF Paul Wilson says the sauce is crucial.

"Meatloaf can be quite one-dimensional, so a little splash of something takes in to another step."

He suggests creamy mustard, smoky barbecue or classic Dianne sauces as options. Tomato sauce never goes astray either. Onion gravy is another favourite.

"In England, it's made with beer," Paul says.

While mash is a familiar side, he suggests using some forgotten vegetables: "Swede, turnip, kohlrabi and celeriac make great mash and give you a different flavour."

More: Use the food glossary at taste.com.au

--

PAUL'S MEATLOAF & MUSHROOM SAUCE

Serves 6-8

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Skills needed: Basic

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, beaten

1 bunch thyme leaves, chopped

3 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce

240ml cup milk

1kg ground meat (equal parts beef, pork, and veal preferred)

65g breadcrumbs

2 bunches sage, minced

1 tbsp coarse salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

170g streaky bacon or pancetta, thinly sliced

MUSHROOM SAUCE

3 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 shallots, finely chopped

6 portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced

250ml beef or chicken gravy

28g dried porcini mushrooms

50ml red wine vinegar

100g sugar

1 x 330ml bottle of stout, Amber ale or sherry

Preheat the oven to 180C. Pour the oil into a saute pan and set over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl, stir together eggs, thyme, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and milk. Place the mince into another bowl and pour egg mixture over the meat. Add breadcrumbs, sage, onion and garlic to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Knead the meat together with the other ingredients until well blended. Transfer to a baking tray and form into a loaf. Wrap the bacon slices lengthwise over the top and tuck them under the loaf, to completely cover the meat.

Bake for 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centre of the loaf reads 160C.

Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve with mushroom sauce and mashed vegetables such as celeriac or swede

To prepare the mushroom sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a saute pan, add the garlic, shallots and portobellos, and saute until soft.

Bring the gravy to a boil in another saucepan, and reduce by a quarter. Remove from heat and add ground porcini.

Add vinegar and sugar to the mushrooms, reduce to syrup. Add the beer, reduce. Add the gravy, place saucepan over low heat, and stir until gravy thickens. Stir in remaining butter just before serving.

Get more meatloaf recipes at taste.com.au