Barbecue cheeseburger meatloaf

Name: Barbecue cheeseburger meatloaf
Total time: 6300 s
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 carrot, roughly chopped; 1 small zucchini, roughly chopped; 2 sticks celery, roughly chopped; 1 large onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 750 g ground beef and pork (lean); 1 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1 egg; 2 pieces sliced bread; 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated; 1 cup Monterey Jack, grated; 1 1/2 cups store bought barbecue sauce

Robert Gonzal @robert

Vancouver BC

This is yet another one of those spur-of-the moment recipes which I love. Not only are they great for exercising creativity, they're also extra satisfying when they turn out well. Which this one definitely did. This time around, it started with a package of mince. The original plan was to turn it into smashburgers or koftas, but my wife requested meat loaf instead. So it was off to the market to get some ingredients. As I walked through the cheese aisle it occured to me that I could make the loaf a hundred times more interesting by adding cheese to it. And maybe not just sprinkled cheese on top, but somehow stuffed inside the loaf so it'd get all gooey and melty. Needless to say, I finished the shopping trip lickety-split and zipped straight home to get to work. As I said off the top, the dish turned out well. That's actually an understatement, because between my wife and I (our daughter ate ahead, because it's a school night) we managed to finish half of a pretty big loaf, along with a healthy serving of mashed potatoes. So yeah, there you go. Barbecue cheeseburger meatloaf. It's a thing, it's delicious, and you should give it a try.

Robert Gonzal @robert

Saved

Ingredients

1 hr 45 minutes

4 to 6 servings

1carrot, roughly chopped
1small zucchini, roughly chopped
2 stickscelery, roughly chopped
1large onion, chopped
3 clovesgarlic, minced
750 gground beef and pork (lean)
1 cuppanko breadcrumbs
1egg
2 piecessliced bread
1 cupcheddar cheese, grated
1 cupMonterey Jack, grated
1 1/2 cupsstore bought barbecue sauce

Saved

Steps

1 hr 45 minutes

1

Put the carrot (no need to peel it), zucchini and celery in a food processor and blitz until finely minced. You want to hide the veg as much as possible (because who puts carrot, zucchini, and celery in their cheeseburger?).
2

Add a splash of veg oil to a large pan on high heat. Throw in the onions and fry for about 10 minutes until they start to get nice and brown. Add the minced veg from Step 1 and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Keep frying another 3 or 4 minutes until the veg have sweated down and started to brown. Add the garlic and fry a final minute. Remove the mixture to a bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
3

Add the mince, panko, and egg to the bowl of veg. Throw in a good pinch of salt and several grinds of black pepper. Use your hands to gently fold the ingredients together until they're just combined. Don't knead too vigorously or for too long, or you'll end up with a tough, chewy loaf.
4

Lay the bread slices in the bottom of a high-sided baking dish. They're there to soak up any excess oil. Spoon half the meat mixture on top and spread it out evenly. Spread the cheese in a layer over that, then finish with another layer of the remaining meat mixture. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 F for 1 hour.
5

Pull the loaf out of the oven and glaze the top with the barbecue sauce. Put it back in the oven on high broil for 15 minutes. Use a thermometer to check for doneness (you want 160 F internal temperature). If it's under, cover the dish loosely with foil and put it back in the oven at 400 F until cooked. Let the loaf rest 10 to 15 minutes before digging in.