Hairy Bikers Meatloaf with Gravy Recipe

Three different meats go into Hairy Bikers meatloaf: 300g of minced beef, 300g of minced pork and 450g of good sausage meat. The recipe is in British Classics, bakes for 45 minutes and serves six at about 550 calories.

They had been filming at Arnold’s Country Kitchen in Nashville, serving the famous meat and three. Turning that idea round gave them a British loaf built on beef, pork and sausage meat, which they call a true classic.

The gravy is made in the roasting tin the loaf came out of. A tablespoon of flour goes into the hot juices, then 400ml of stock a little at a time, and it simmers for four or five minutes before being strained.

Hairy Bikers Meatloaf with Gravy

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Main

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 25 minutesCook time:1 hour Rest time: 15 minutesTotal time:1 hour 40 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:550 kcal Best Season:Winter

Description

Onion, carrot and celery are softened and cooled before they meet the mince, so the mixture stays firm. A teaspoon and a half of chilli powder goes in with them, which is more heat than most meatloaves carry. The ketchup is split, three tablespoons through the meat and the rest brushed over the top with brown sugar.

Ingredients

For the meatloaf

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stick, trimmed and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 to 1½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp dried thyme, or 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 300g minced beef
• 300g minced pork
• 450g good-quality pork sausage meat
• 7 tbsp tomato ketchup, used in three stages
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 75g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 small bunch of flatleaf parsley, leaves chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• black pepper

For the gravy

• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 400ml beef or pork stock
• 1 tsp tomato ketchup

Instructions

1. Soften the vegetables: Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the onion, carrot and celery for 10 minutes until well softened, stirring regularly.
2. Add the spices: Add the garlic, chilli powder and thyme and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.
3. Cool them down: Take the pan off the heat, tip everything into a large bowl and leave to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.
4. Mix the loaf: Add the beef, pork, sausage meat, 3 tablespoons of the ketchup, 1 tablespoon of the Worcestershire sauce, the breadcrumbs, parsley, egg, salt and plenty of pepper to the cooled vegetables. Mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. It should feel fairly stiff but moist.
5. Shape it by hand: Put the mixture into a small roasting tin and shape it into a free-standing loaf about 28 by 14cm. It is not pressed into a loaf tin, so the sides stay exposed.
6. Glaze the top: Mix the remaining 4 tablespoons of ketchup and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce with the dark brown sugar, and spread it over the top of the loaf.
7. Bake: Bake for 45 minutes, until browned and firm. Lift the loaf onto a warmed plate and cover loosely with foil. Do not wash the tin.
8. Start the gravy: Put the roasting tin straight on the hob over a low heat and stir the flour into the juices with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, then add the stock a little at a time, stirring until it is all incorporated. Add the teaspoon of ketchup.
9. Finish the gravy: Bring to a simmer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring to lift the sticky bits from the base of the tin. Whisk out any lumps, season, then strain through a sieve into a warmed jug.
10. Serve: Cut the meatloaf into thick slices and serve with the gravy.

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FAQs

Why three different meats?

Because each one does a different job. Beef gives it flavour, pork keeps it soft, and sausage meat brings fat and seasoning that hold the whole thing together.

Buy good sausage meat rather than the cheapest, since 450g of it is more than a third of the loaf. If you cannot find it, squeeze the meat out of six good sausages.

Why cool the vegetables before mixing?

Because warm vegetables start to melt the fat in the sausage meat. Ten to fifteen minutes off the heat is enough, and the recipe builds it in as its own step.

The result is a mixture that is fairly stiff but moist, which is the wording in the book. Too warm and it goes slack, and a slack loaf spreads out in the tin instead of holding its shape.

A roasting tin, not a loaf tin?

A roasting tin, and it changes the result. The loaf is shaped by hand and stands free, so all four sides are exposed to the heat and the glaze browns right round it.

Shaping it by hand also means you control the thickness. At 28 by 14cm it cooks through in 45 minutes, and a taller loaf in a narrow tin would need longer.

Can I eat it cold?

Yes, and they suggest it. A slice of cold meatloaf would be very welcome in a lunchbox, as they put it.

The chilli powder and the ketchup glaze come through more when it is cold, and the loaf slices more cleanly the next day. Their potato salad is the obvious thing to go with it.

What other meatloaves do they have?

Their chicken meatloaf is the lightest, made with 750g of chicken mince, 100g of Gruyère and wrapped in streaky bacon, shaped free-form on a tray rather than in a tin.

There is an Austrian one too, in the Big Book of Baking, made with minced pork, caraway seeds and marjoram and served with soured cream. They call it the moistest meatloaf they have ever tasted.