Meatloaf
Encyclopedia
Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat
formed into a loaf
shape and baked or smoked. The loaf shape is formed by either cooking
it in a loaf pan
, or forming it by hand on a flat baking pan. It is usually made from ground beef
, although lamb, pork
, veal
, venison
, and poultry
or a combination are also used.
meat was mentioned in the famous Roman cookery collection Apicius
as early as the 5th century. Meatloaf is a traditional German, Belgian and Dutch dish, and it is a cousin to the Italian meatball
. American meatloaf has its origins in scrapple
, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal
served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times. However, meatloaf in the contemporary American sense did not appear in cookbooks until the late 19th century.
recipes, the distinction coming from shape and from the accompaniments or choice of sauce. Sometimes tomato sauce or ketchup is in the meat and baked along with the meat.
Meatloaf is a versatile dish. The ground meat may be mixed with a binder such as egg
s and breadcrumbs, small pieces of bread soaked in milk
(or red wine
or another liquid), or wheat germ, finely ground almond
s, or oatmeal
, to make it more dough
-like. Salt
, spice
s and herbs (such as parsley
), as well as chopped vegetable
s (such as onion
s, green peppers and celery
), may also be added. Some recipes add strips of bacon
on top. Meatloaf may be filled with eggs, cheese
, vegetables, herbs, mushroom
s, or a combination of these ingredients. Sometimes meatloaf is made by adding meat and sometimes also eggs to a meatloaf mix before baking. A regular oven is not required. Meatloaf can be cooked in a slow cooker or in a microwave oven. To ensure even cooking in a microwave oven, it is best cooked invidual portions (for instance, in a mug) or as a small loaf.
Denmark: Danish meatloaf is called forloren hare (i.e. "mock hare") or "farsbrød" (i.e. "mince-meat bread") and is usually made from a mixture of ground pork and beef with strips of bacon or cubed bacon on top. It is served with boiled or mashed potatoes and brown sauce sweetened with red currant jelly.
Germany: In Germany
, meatloaf is referred to as Hackbraten, Faschierter Braten or Falscher Hase (i.e. "mock hare"). It often has boiled eggs inside.
Hungary:Stefania meatloaf or Stefania slices are a type of Hungarian long meatloaf baked in a loaf pan, with 3 hard boiled eggs in the middle, making decorative white and yellow rings in the middle of the slices.
Italy: In Italy, meatloaf is called polpettone and can be filled with eggs or ham and cheese.
Jewish cuisine:In Jewish cuisine
, meatloaf is called Klops and can be served cold or hot. It is sometimes filled with whole boiled eggs. The source of the word might be German, Klops, meaning meatball.
Macedonia:Rolat is a similar dish to the chiefly Arab, though also Persian and South-Asian, kofta. Ground beef is rolled and cooked until brown. It can be cooked with vegetables and various sauces.
Philippines: There is a meatloaf dish called embotido made of well seasoned ground pork, minced carrots, sausages, and whole boiled eggs. The meat is molded into a roll with the sausages and hard boiled eggs set in the middle. It is then wrapped in aluminum foil (historically, banana leaves) and steamed for an hour. The cooked embotido may be stored in freezers. It is usually served fried and sliced for breakfast.
Romania: In Romanian cuisine, there is a meatloaf dish called drob, similar to other minced meat dishes in the region like the Bulgarian Rulo Stefani or the Hungarian Stefánia meatloaf, the major difference being that it's always made with lamb organs (or a mixture of lamb organs and pork or veal) and the hard boiled eggs in the centre of the drob are optional.
Bulgaria: Rulo Stefani . The Bulgarian rulo Stefani meatloaf is similar to the Hungarian Stefánia meatloaf, with hard boiled eggs in the middle.
Czech Republic: In the Czech Republic, meatloaf is referred to as sekaná (i. e. "chopped", adjective). It is optional to put hard boiled eggs, gherkin or wiener wurst inside.
Greater Middle East: Kafta or kofta
is a similar dish which the mixture can be made into hamburger
s and kebab
s. It usually has parsley
in it.
United States: In 2007, meatloaf was voted the seventh favorite dish in the United States according to Good Housekeeping.
The meatloaf is typically eaten with some kind of sauce
or relish
. Many of these recipes call for pasta sauce or tomato sauce to be poured over the loaf to form a crust during baking. The tomato-based sauce may be replaced with simple brown gravy or onion gravy, but the meatloaf is prepared in a similar manner. Barbecue sauce
, tomato ketchup
, or a mixture of both tomato ketchup and mustard
may also be used. American meatloaf may be garnished with ketchup.
Another variety of meatloaf is prepared by frosting it with mashed potatoes, drizzling it with a small amount of butter
, and browning in the oven.
The meatloaf is normally served warm as part of the main course, but can also be found sliced as a cold cut
. Meatloaf can also be considered a typical comfort food
and is served in many diners and restaurants today.
Ground meat
Ground meat is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. It is called minced meat or more usually mince outside North America....
formed into a loaf
Loaf
A loaf is a shape, usually rounded or oblong, mass of food. It may refer to a bread, or meatloaf.The term "loaf" sometimes refers to "head" from the rhyming slang "loaf of bread" ....
shape and baked or smoked. The loaf shape is formed by either cooking
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
it in a loaf pan
Bread pan
A bread pan is a kitchen utensil in the form of a container in which bread is baked. Its function is to shape bread while it is rising during baking. The most common shape of the bread pan is the loaf - a convenient form from which usable slices of bread may be cut. The bread pan is made from a...
, or forming it by hand on a flat baking pan. It is usually made from ground beef
Ground beef
Beef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...
, although lamb, pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, veal
Veal
Veal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
, venison
Venison
Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
, and poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
or a combination are also used.
History
The meatloaf has European origins; meatloaf of mincedMincing
Mincing is a food preparation technique in which food ingredients are finely divided. The effect is to create a closely bonded mixture of ingredients and a soft or pasty texture. Flavoring ingredients such as garlic, ginger, and fresh herbs may be minced to distribute flavor more evenly in a mixture...
meat was mentioned in the famous Roman cookery collection Apicius
Apicius
Apicius is the title of a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD and written in a language that is in many ways closer to Vulgar than to Classical Latin....
as early as the 5th century. Meatloaf is a traditional German, Belgian and Dutch dish, and it is a cousin to the Italian meatball
Meatball
A meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...
. American meatloaf has its origins in scrapple
Scrapple
Scrapple, also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name pon haus, is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then panfried before serving...
, a mixture of ground pork and cornmeal
Cornmeal
Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize or American corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour. However, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the...
served by German-Americans in Pennsylvania since Colonial times. However, meatloaf in the contemporary American sense did not appear in cookbooks until the late 19th century.
Dish
Many meatloaf recipes are interchangeable with meatballMeatball
A meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...
recipes, the distinction coming from shape and from the accompaniments or choice of sauce. Sometimes tomato sauce or ketchup is in the meat and baked along with the meat.
Meatloaf is a versatile dish. The ground meat may be mixed with a binder such as egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
s and breadcrumbs, small pieces of bread soaked in milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
(or red wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
or another liquid), or wheat germ, finely ground almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s, or oatmeal
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is ground oat groats , or a porridge made from oats . Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats....
, to make it more dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
-like. Salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s and herbs (such as parsley
Parsley
Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...
), as well as chopped vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s (such as onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, green peppers and celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
), may also be added. Some recipes add strips of bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
on top. Meatloaf may be filled with eggs, cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, vegetables, herbs, mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s, or a combination of these ingredients. Sometimes meatloaf is made by adding meat and sometimes also eggs to a meatloaf mix before baking. A regular oven is not required. Meatloaf can be cooked in a slow cooker or in a microwave oven. To ensure even cooking in a microwave oven, it is best cooked invidual portions (for instance, in a mug) or as a small loaf.
International variations
Austria: The Austrian meatloaf version is called Faschierter Braten. Most of the time it is not filled (e.g., in Germany), but it is wrapped in ham before baking it. Often it is served with mashed potatoes (when warm) or with sauce cumberland (when cold).Denmark: Danish meatloaf is called forloren hare (i.e. "mock hare") or "farsbrød" (i.e. "mince-meat bread") and is usually made from a mixture of ground pork and beef with strips of bacon or cubed bacon on top. It is served with boiled or mashed potatoes and brown sauce sweetened with red currant jelly.
Germany: In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, meatloaf is referred to as Hackbraten, Faschierter Braten or Falscher Hase (i.e. "mock hare"). It often has boiled eggs inside.
Hungary:Stefania meatloaf or Stefania slices are a type of Hungarian long meatloaf baked in a loaf pan, with 3 hard boiled eggs in the middle, making decorative white and yellow rings in the middle of the slices.
Italy: In Italy, meatloaf is called polpettone and can be filled with eggs or ham and cheese.
Jewish cuisine:In Jewish cuisine
Jewish cuisine
Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
, meatloaf is called Klops and can be served cold or hot. It is sometimes filled with whole boiled eggs. The source of the word might be German, Klops, meaning meatball.
Macedonia:Rolat is a similar dish to the chiefly Arab, though also Persian and South-Asian, kofta. Ground beef is rolled and cooked until brown. It can be cooked with vegetables and various sauces.
Philippines: There is a meatloaf dish called embotido made of well seasoned ground pork, minced carrots, sausages, and whole boiled eggs. The meat is molded into a roll with the sausages and hard boiled eggs set in the middle. It is then wrapped in aluminum foil (historically, banana leaves) and steamed for an hour. The cooked embotido may be stored in freezers. It is usually served fried and sliced for breakfast.
Romania: In Romanian cuisine, there is a meatloaf dish called drob, similar to other minced meat dishes in the region like the Bulgarian Rulo Stefani or the Hungarian Stefánia meatloaf, the major difference being that it's always made with lamb organs (or a mixture of lamb organs and pork or veal) and the hard boiled eggs in the centre of the drob are optional.
Bulgaria: Rulo Stefani . The Bulgarian rulo Stefani meatloaf is similar to the Hungarian Stefánia meatloaf, with hard boiled eggs in the middle.
Czech Republic: In the Czech Republic, meatloaf is referred to as sekaná (i. e. "chopped", adjective). It is optional to put hard boiled eggs, gherkin or wiener wurst inside.
Greater Middle East: Kafta or kofta
Kofta
Kofta is a Middle Eastern and South Asian meatball or meatloaf.In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat—usually beef or lamb—mixed with spices and/or onions...
is a similar dish which the mixture can be made into hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
s and kebab
Kebab
Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
s. It usually has parsley
Parsley
Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...
in it.
United States: In 2007, meatloaf was voted the seventh favorite dish in the United States according to Good Housekeeping.
- During the Great DepressionGreat DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, cooking meatloaf was a way to stretch the food budget for families, using an inexpensive type of meat and other ingredients as leftovers; along with spices, it was popular to add cerealCerealCereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
grains to the meatloaf to stretch the meat. The tradition lives on with the merits of producing a lower-fat dish with superior binding and consistency.
The meatloaf is typically eaten with some kind of sauce
Sauce
In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
or relish
Relish
A relish is a cooked, pickled, or chopped vegetable or fruit food item which is typically used as a condiment.In North America, relish commonly alludes to sweet pickle relish-like sauce that often condiments hot dogs, hamburgers and other types of fast food.-Description and ingredients:The item...
. Many of these recipes call for pasta sauce or tomato sauce to be poured over the loaf to form a crust during baking. The tomato-based sauce may be replaced with simple brown gravy or onion gravy, but the meatloaf is prepared in a similar manner. Barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce is a flavoring sauce or condiment ranging from watery to very thick consistency. As the name implies, it was created as an accompaniment to barbecued foods. While it can be applied to any food, it usually tops meat after cooking or during barbecuing, grilling, or baking...
, tomato ketchup
Ketchup
Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
, or a mixture of both tomato ketchup and mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
may also be used. American meatloaf may be garnished with ketchup.
Another variety of meatloaf is prepared by frosting it with mashed potatoes, drizzling it with a small amount of butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
, and browning in the oven.
The meatloaf is normally served warm as part of the main course, but can also be found sliced as a cold cut
Cold cut
Cold cuts are cheeses or precooked or cured meat, often sausages or meat loaves, that are sliced and usually served cold on sandwiches or on party trays. They can be bought pre-sliced in vacuum packs at a supermarket or grocery store, or they can be purchased at a delicatessen or deli counter,...
. Meatloaf can also be considered a typical comfort food
Comfort food
Comfort food is food prepared traditionally that may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal. Comfort foods may be foods that have a nostalgic element either to an individual or a specific culture...
and is served in many diners and restaurants today.
See also
- HamburgerHamburgerA hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
- Salisbury steakSalisbury steakSalisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of minced beef and other ingredients, which is shaped to resemble a steak, and usually is served with gravy / brown sauce. Hamburger steak is a similar product, but differs in ingredients....
- Swiss steakSwiss steakSwiss steak is a method of preparing meat, usually beef, by means of rolling or pounding, and then braising in a cooking pot of stewed tomatoes, either on a stove or in an oven....
- MeatballMeatballA meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...
- Groaty puddingGroaty puddingGroaty pudding is a traditional dish from the Black Country in England. It is made from soaked groats, beef, leeks, onion andbeef stock which are baked together at a moderate temperature of approximately for up to 16 hours...
- HaggisHaggisHaggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' , minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.Haggis is a kind...
- Red puddingRed puddingRed pudding is a meat dish served mainly at chip shops in parts of Scotland as an alternative to fish . The ingredients consist of bacon, beef, port, pork rind, suet, rusks, spices, salt, beef stock, beef fat and colouring....
- Meat LoafMeat LoafMichael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
- Haslett