Yes, Virginia There is a Great Meatloaf

Nita Holleman's Note:

Absolutely delicious meatloaf and sauce! Those who claim they don't believe there can be such a thing as a great meatloaf will love this. Based on a meatloaf given to me by a dear friend, Virginia Strehl, Memphis, and Leesburg, Fla. Nita Holleman, 2000

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-5

Yield: 1.0 meatloaf

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (ground shoulder roast is good)
• 1 slice bread (broken or chopped finely)
• 1 egg
• 1 small vidalia onions or 1 small type sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/2-2/3 cup whole milk or 1/2-2/3 cup half-and-half

Sauce

• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 -4 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed firm (to taste)
• 1/2 cup ketchup

Directions:

1. Meatloaf: Combine meat loaf ingredients and place into a loaf baking dish.
2. Smooth out top.
3. Sauce: Combine sauce ingredients and pour on top and sides of meatloaf.
4. Bake at 350°F about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until done.
5. ENJOY!
6. *The addition of 1 or 2 teaspoons of Kitchen Bouquet® makes this recipe very good.
7. **Recipe should be"plump" from the addition of the milk or Half & Half.
8. It should NOT be runny.
9. ***A second batch of sauce served hot is good to serve with the meatloaf.
10. Nita's Note: I note that some of you are using game meat such as deer -- Deer is a very DRY meat. It is wise to HAVE some fat added to the deer -- especially to ground deer. Maybe 25 % fat, ( I recommend 1 lb of ground venison, and 1/2 lb of deer sausage for fat content), otherwise your results will be poor. I don't know about some of the other game meat some are using. Please consult and expert. The recipe is delicious as it stands! Enjoy! Nita Holleman.

Reviews

[Chef #670089]

5 stars because it was easy to make and my very picky eaters liked it. After reading some of the reviews, I substituted the slice of bread with some stuffing (ground into crumbs with food processor) for more flavor. 1 slice of bread = 1/4 cup of crumbs. Also, the first time I made this, the sauce tasted very "vinegary" (my guys did not like it at all!), so the second time I made the sauce a couple of days in advance to let the flavors marry and some of the vinegar evaporate - much better (my picky eaters thought I used a different meatloaf recipe and I wasn't about to fess up). Reducing the amount of vinegar made the sauce taste too "ketchupy." Thank you for sharing!

[thousandislandsgirl]

Best Meatloaf I have ever made. Absolutely rave reviews. I cant imagine anyone saying they did not like it! Oh well, to each his own favourites I guess! For me, this one has been a keeper ever since I discovered it here months ago. Rather than prepare the meatloaf in a family size loaf pan I make 4 or 5 small ones in small glass baking dishes and freeze them and then just pop in oven or micro to reheat when needed. I have also froze the sauce in ice cube trays and then have extra sauce when I pull out one of the little loafs. The frozen sauce melts almost immediately over the hot loaf. Love it.

[Marlene Segers]

My husband wanted a meatloaf like his mother use to make (He is 78 years old). This receipt fit the bill. Thank you so much!!!