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Meatloaf with Ham

Source of Recipe

From "Maple Syrup Cookbook" by Ken Haedrich


Recipe Introduction

"Move over, plain old meatloaf — you've got some serious competition with this savory, maple-infused main dish. Serve it with the usual trimmings, like mashed potatoes and your favorite steamed greens. Ground ham isn't something that's easy to find in most markets, so you can grind your own in a food grinder from chunks of leftover ham. Or use the food processor, starting with well-diced ham. Pulse the machine just until it's finely chopped; you don't want it to turn smooth or gummy."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ Butter for greasing
â—¦ 1 ½ pounds ground pork
â—¦ 1 ½ pounds ground ham
â—¦ ½ cup quick-cooking rolled oats
â—¦ ½ cup fine cracker crumbs or plain dry bread crumbs
â—¦ 1 cup finely chopped onion
â—¦ 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
â—¦ ½ teaspoon (scant) salt
â—¦ 1 teaspoon dry mustard
â—¦ ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ â…› teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦ 2 eggs
â—¦ ¾ cup milk
â—¦ 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
â—¦ â…“ cup pure maple syrup
â—¦ â…“ cup firmly packed brown sugar
â—¦ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
â—¦ 1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
â—¦ 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly butter a very large loaf pan, one that's at least 5 by 9 inches. (You may need one or two ramekins for the extra loaf mixture since this makes a lot, so get those out, too, just in case.)

Combine the pork, ham, oats, cracker crumbs, onion, and parsley in a very large bowl. Using your hands, break up the meats, rubbing with the crumbs until everything is good and mixed. Sprinkle on the salt, dry mustard, paprika, allspice, black pepper, and cayenne; mix again. Whisk the eggs, milk, and yellow mustard in a bowl. Add to the meat mixture and work it in thoroughly by hand until everything is evenly mixed.

Transfer the meat mixture to the loaf pan, rounding off the top very slightly and making a shallow furrow lengthwise down the center of the loaf. The meat should be at least ¾ inch below the top edge of the pan. If you have extra moisture, pack it into the ramekins.

For the glaze:
Combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, and Worcestershire in a small saucepan. Heat, whisking, then remove from the heat as soon as it begins to boil. Spoon one-third of the glaze over the loaf.

Bake the loaf on the middle oven rack for 45 minutes. Slide the loaf out of the oven and spoon another one-third of the glaze over the meat. Bake for another 45 minutes, or until the center of the loaf registers 160° F on an instant-read or meat thermometer. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Rewarm the remaining glaze and spoon it over the slices when serving.

Makes 8 or more servings