So let me caveat, if you are the cook that absolutely has to have a recipe with exact measurements … stop reading now and google a basic meatloaf recipe and come back then scroll down to the actual cooking directions lol. Because I like to experiment and I never do exact measurements! But honestly it’s almost impossible to screw up meatloaf folks. Well… once you know about the secret to the sauce that is.
So here are the basic meatloaf ingredients:
2-3 lbs (give or take) of ground meat. You can use any of the following or be brave and use a combination! I’ve tried them all in various combinations and they all taste great! Hamburger, bison, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, venison… it’s called “meat” loaf not “hamburger” loaf. Get crazy and try something new!
2 eggs
About a cup of bread crumbs. I just take a slice or two of bread (the heels work great since nobody seems to want to eat those in my house anyway) and crumble them up. I’m not going to buy bread crumbs when I have bread at home… duh! I usually use a nice multigrain which adds a great flavor!
If you want… I’ve also been known to add a spoon full of wheat germ. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. Just depends on my mood lol
1/2-1 cup milk (I just add the milk straight out of the carton as I’m mixing stuff together so the mixture doesn’t get too wet… but be careful not to get raw meat on your milk carton… yuck!)
Italian spices: I would guess I use about 2 tablespoons but I really like my spices… so just use what you think is good for your tastebuds.
Some chopped up onion (or not). Add as much or as little as you want depending on how much you love those onions! You can toss in some garlic if you like as well.
So if you haven’t been following my blog you are gonna need to go back and look at the instant pot accessories that I posted about a few days ago and that I totally can’t live without ….because we are going to be using those!
Toss all your ingredients into the ramekin and start mixing it together using your hands to squish everything together really good (adding the milk a little bit at a time till you get a consistency that feels right to you. Not too wet… but not super dry either)
After you are done mixing, pat the meatloaf down flat into your ramekin. Now GO WASH YOUR HANDS! Lol
In your instant pot place enough water to come up to the top of your trivet rack (get the one with the handles, you are going to need it to remove the hot ramekin later). About 2 cups of water give or take…
Place the ramekin on top of the trivet inside the instant pot. Close the lid and cook on manual (high pressure) for 45-60 minutes. When it’s done cooking check the meat with a meat thermometer to make sure it’s done (if not, put it back on to cook for a few more minutes).
While that’s cooking it’s time to make the sauce that goes on top. This is the secret to a great meatloaf (shhhh don’t tell anyone). Again you are going to make this sauce to satisfy your taste buds so amounts may vary, add ingredients and taste then add some more if it’s not “just right” yet. Play with this till you get it yummy! It’s not as hard as it sounds.
In a bowl mix together about 1/2 cup catsup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar (coconut sugar or maple sugar are excellent choices as well), and about a 1/2 teaspoon of ground yellow mustard powder. This should taste like a really good barbecue sauce. If it’s not sweet enough … add some more sugar. If it’s not tangy enough … add a TINY amount more of mustard (mustard is strong so go slow with adding more). Another trick is to let it sit for a few minutes so the flavors combine and then come back and taste it. If it’s not right yet… adjust your sugar or mustard then.
Once your meatloaf is done cooking, use those handy trivet handles and take the ramekin out of the instant pot. (I drain the grease into an empty glass jar that I save after we finish using the contents and when it’s full I just throw the whole jar away since they don’t recycle where I live and I’ve never seen recycling in campgrounds either). Using a spoon, smear your yummy barbecue sauce on top of your meatloaf.
Now you have a decision to make:
1. You can serve and eat right now…
Or
2. You can caramelize the sauce on top (trust me this makes it way yummier!) and then serve it up. It only takes a few extra minutes… go on you know you want to! Just place the whole ramekin in the oven (you can also use a convection oven or a toaster oven if that’s what you have in your RV) on broil and watch it (DO NOT LOOK AWAY because this process happens fast!) you will see the sauce on top start to bubble. Tiny little bubbles. Once you see the bubbles, it’s done! Take it out and serve it up.
Taking the few extra minutes to caramelize the sauce makes it go from a good meatloaf to a “can I get the recipe for your meatloaf because my kids/husband won’t eat it when I make it” type meatloaf … the secret is really the caramelize sauce… not the meatloaf (but I only share that with people I really like, so shhhhh!) lol
Honestly this is the recipe people ask me for the most and the meal everyone wants me to make all the time … and I’m sitting here thinking… “it’s just meatloaf folks! It’s not that fancy or hard to make” lol
Conestoga Chuck 