Horseradish Meat Loaf

Like a Bat Out Of Hell, we will be leaving here in a few days to start our next few legs on the way to the Newmar factory in Napannee.  Whenever we are on a road trip Pat prepares a meal plan so we can eat properly and not have to worry about finding a place to eat.  Whether it is to stop for a snack, for lunch or dinner at the end of the day, we prefer to prepare our own meals.

For this four day set we have some smoked pork loin left from a cook I did a few weeks ago and will be doing some chicken breasts on the bbq before we leave.  One of our favourites throughout the year, whether as a main protein for dinner, or as a sandwich is Meat Loaf.  This is a great recipe and one which we have not modified much.  We came across this about twenty years ago somewhere in a magazine or something but it caught my eye because of the use of horseradish.  We quite like horseradish and the coarse variety that is hot is a great addition to this recipe.

Years ago when Pat was working, one of her coworkers lived south of North Bay and owned a cattle farm.  We were invited over to tour the property, see how they ran the farm and stay for dinner.  With a cattle farm it was a fairly good guess we were going to have beef of some sort.  They served a great prime rib meal and had homemade horseradish on the side.  Without a doubt the taste of the horseradish was as hot as I have ever tasted but was a satisfying flavour.  It has the same affect as wasabi paste when eating sushi.  They said we were doing them a favour to take some as the root takes over everything once it starts.  We had tasted commercial horseradish but this was in another league.  Unfortunately I have not been able to get my hands on any fresh root since but we always search out the hottest variety for our meals when it calls for horseradish.  We also look for coarse horseradish rather than the paste or fine variety.

Horseradish Meatloaf

• 2 pounds ground beef (85% or higher lean)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs or coarse Panko
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse horseradish
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

Light up the bbq and preheat to 250 degrees.  As it is coming up to temperature, in a large bowl, mix all Meat Loaf ingredients together well.  Although this is messy, it is easiest to do this with your hands.  Form the mixture into a 5X9 or similar loaf pan, making sure to press it down firmly into the corners.  Sprinkle a small amount of panko or bread crumbs on the top if desired to add a bit of crunch.

The sauce in my opinion is optional.  If you are planning to eat this meal in one sitting then I would recommend the sauce.  If you are planning on using some of the leftovers for sandwiches like we do, I would omit the sauce.  That is, of course, unless you like the sauce on your sandwiches.

To make the sauce, whisk together the ingredients in a fresh bowl and spoon half of the mixture on top of the Meat Loaf prior to going into the bbq.

Place Meat Loaf in the bbq and add your favourite chips to the coals.  I prefer to use hickory with this meal.  At 250 degrees I usually wait 90 minutes to lift the lid.  At that time you can add the remaining sauce and close the lid for another 30 minutes.  Regardless of using sauce or not, after a total of 2 hours pull it off the bbq and let it rest at least 15 minutes.  Enjoy.

Thank you for reading.