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Meatloaf is a dish of
ground meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...
that has been combined with other ingredients, formed into the shape of a
loaf A loaf (: loaves) is a (usually) rounded or oblong quantity of food, typically and originally of bread. It is common to bake bread in a rectangular bread pan or loaf pan because some kinds of bread dough tend to collapse and spread out during ...
, then
baked Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but it can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. Bread is the most commonly baked item, but many other types of food can also be baked. Heat is gradually t ...
or smoked. The final shape is either hand-formed on a baking tray or pan-formed by cooking it in a loaf pan. It is usually made with
ground beef Ground beef, hamburger, hamburger meat (North American English), minced beef or beef mince (Commonwealth English; often just generically referred to as ground meat, ''mince'' or ''mincemeat'') is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife or ...
, although ground lamb,
pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...
,
veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...
,
venison Venison refers primarily to the meat of deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edible, including the internal organs. Venison, much like beef or pork, is categorized into spe ...
,
poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...
, and
seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...
are also used, sometimes in combination. Vegetarian adaptations of meatloaf may use imitation meat or pulses. The cooked meatloaf can be sliced like a loaf of bread to make individual portions. It can easily become dry; therefore, various techniques exist to keep the dish moist, like mixing in
bread crumbs Breadcrumbs are a culinary ingredient consisting of flour or crumbled bread of varying dryness, sometimes with seasonings added. They are used for a variety of purposes, including breading or crumbing foods before frying (such as breaded cut ...
and egg, covering it with sauce, wrapping it, or using moisture-enhancing ingredients in the mixture, such as filling it with fatty meats,
cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
s, or
vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...
.


History

Meatloaf is a traditional
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
, Scandinavian and Belgian dish, and it is a cousin to the meatball in
Dutch cuisine Dutch cuisine is formed from the cooking traditions and practices of the Netherlands. The country's cuisine is shaped by its location on the fertile Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta at the North Sea, giving rise to fishing, farming, and overseas tra ...
. North American meatloaf has its origins in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork and
cornmeal Maize meal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize. It is a common staple food and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but it is not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', Third Editi ...
served by
German-Americans German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...
in Pennsylvania since colonial times. Meatloaf in the contemporary American sense did not appear in
cookbooks A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cours ...
until the late 19th century.


National variations


Europe

The Austrian version of meatloaf is called ''faschierter Braten'' (literally " minced
roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...
", from ''faschieren'', "to mince", and ''ein Braten'', "a
roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...
"), also known as ''falscher Hase'', or 'fake rabbit'. Most of the time, it is not filled (as it may be in Germany), though the variation ''im Speckmantel'' involves wrapping the exterior in ham or bacon before baking. Often, it is served with mashed potatoes (when warm), or with Cumberland sauce (when cold). The Belgian version of meatloaf is called ''vleesbrood'' (meatbread); however, ''fricandon'' is also used to refer to it in Dutch. In French, it is called ''pain de viande''. It is usually served warm and can then be served with various sauces, but can also be eaten cold with a loaf of bread. ''Rulo Stefani'' (), a Bulgarian meatloaf, is similar to the Hungarian ''Stefánia'' meatloaf, with hard-boiled eggs, and sometimes with chopped carrots and pickled gherkins in the middle. In the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, meatloaf is referred to as ''sekaná'' ('chopped'). It is optional to put hard-boiled eggs, gherkins, or wienerwurst inside. Danish meatloaf is called ''forloren hare'' ('mock hare') or ''farsbrød'' ('ground-meat bread') and is usually made from a mixture of ground pork and beef with strips of
bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...
or cubed bacon on top. It is served with boiled or mashed potatoes and brown gravy sweetened with
redcurrant The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions. Description ''Ribes ...
jam. Finnish meatloaf is called ''lihamureke''. It is entirely based on the basic meatball recipe. The only spices used are salt and pepper. It is not customary to stuff ''lihamureke'' with anything. The usual side dish is mashed potatoes, and ''lihamureke'' is usually served with brown sauce. In
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, meatloaf is referred to as ''Hackbraten'' (literally "ground roast", from ''Hackfleisch'', "
ground meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...
", and ''ein Braten'', "a
roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...
"), ''faschierter Braten'' (literally " minced
roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...
", from ''faschieren'', "to mince", and ''ein Braten'', "a
roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...
"), ''Wiegebraten'', ''falscher Hase'' ("false hare" or "faux hare") and ''Heuchelhase'' ("mock-hare"). In some regions, it often has boiled eggs inside. '' Fleischlaib'' does literally mean "meat-loaf", but is actually another name for ''
Leberkäse (German, literally 'liver-cheese'; sometimes also ''Leberkäs'' or ''Lebaka(a)s'') in Austria and the Swabian, Bavarian and Franconian parts of Germany, 'leverkaas' in Netherlands, the Netherlands and ''Fleischkäse'' ("meat-cheese") in Saarlan ...
'' (literally "liver-cheese"), which is not a meatloaf. In
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, meatloaf is referred to as ''rolo'' (Ρολό) and it is usually filled with hard-boiled eggs, although several other variations exist. Stefania meatloaf () or Stefania slices are a type of Hungarian long meatloaf baked in a loaf pan, with three hard-boiled eggs in the middle, making decorative white and yellow rings in the middle of the slices. In
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, meatloaf is called ''polpettone'' and can be filled with eggs, ham and cheese, and other ingredients. The Macedonian ''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. The Dutch version of meatloaf is called ''gehaktbrood'' and can be eaten warm or cold. '' Slavink'' is sometimes thought of as a small meatloaf, though it is pan-fried. In
Polish cuisine Polish cuisine ( ) is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to History of Poland, Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other ...
, the dish called ''pieczeń rzymska'' ("Roman roast") or ''klops'' is made of ground pork, beef, onions and garlic, with an obligatory hard boiled egg inside. In
Romanian cuisine Romanian cuisine () is a diverse blend of different dishes from several traditions with which it has come into contact, but it also maintains its own character. It has been influenced mainly by Ottoman cuisine, Ottoman and Turkish cuisine but a ...
, 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 is that ''drob'' is 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. Swedish meatloaf is called ''köttfärslimpa'' (literally "minced meat-loaf", from ''köttfärs'', "
minced meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...
", and ''limpa'', "loaf") and is usually made from a mixture of ground pork and beef. It is served with boiled or mashed potatoes, brown sauce gravy, often made from the meat juice that comes from cooking the meatloaf, and lingonberry jam. It is also used thinly sliced as a spread on sandwiches. In the UK, there are regional pork meatloaf dishes known as haslet, which can be eaten cold or hot. In British English, haslet or acelet is a pork meatloaf with herbs, originally from Lincolnshire. The word is derived from the Old French hastilles meaning entrails. In Lincolnshire, haslet (pronounced '/ˈhæslɪt/' locally) is typically made from stale white bread, minced pork, sage, salt and black pepper. It is typically served cold with pickles and salad, or as a sandwich filling. In England, it is occasionally sold on a delicatessen counter.


Asia

In Korea, there are meatloaf dishes called tteok-galbi and neobiani. ''Khuchmal'' () is served with mashed potatoes cooked over the ground meat. '' Embutido'' (not to be confused with the Spanish '' embutido'') is made of well-seasoned ground pork, raisins, 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. Another variation of the dish involves wrapping the meatloaf with pork crow or
mesentery In human anatomy, the mesentery is an Organ (anatomy), organ that attaches the intestines to the posterior abdominal wall, consisting of a double fold of the peritoneum. It helps (among other functions) in storing Adipose tissue, fat and allowi ...
. It is then wrapped in aluminum foil (historically, banana leaves) and steamed for an hour. The cooked ''embutido'' may be stored in freezers. It is usually served fried and sliced for breakfast. ''Embutido'' is sometimes confused with '' morcón'' (also not to be confused with Spanish '' morcón''), due to their similarity in appearance. However, ''morcón'' is a beef roulade, not a meatloaf. '' Hardinera'' is a Filipino meatloaf made with diced or ground pork topped with sliced hard-boiled eggs, pineapples, carrots, bell peppers, peas, tomatoes, and raisins, among others. In
Turkish cuisine Turkish cuisine () is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, Ottoman cuisine (Osmanlı mutfağı), European influences, Seljuk Empire, Seljuk cuisine and the Turkish diaspora. Turkish cuisine with traditional Turkic peoples, Turkic elements s ...
, there is a version of meatloaf called ''dalyan köfte'' or ''rulo köfte''; it is typically filled with carrots, peas, and whole boiled eggs. The Vietnamese meatloaf version is called ''chả''. It is boiled rather than baked or smoked. There are many versions of ''chả'' that differ in the ingredients used.


South America

Chilean meatloaf, known as ''Asado Alemán'' (German roasted meat) is a staple of southern Chilean cuisine, especially in areas known for having been influenced by the arrival of German immigrants during the 18th and 19th century. The most common recipe nowadays consists of ground beef, carrots, sausages, boiled eggs and breadcrumbs, cooked in the oven and normally served with a side-dish of mashed potatoes or rice. The Cuban version of meatloaf is called ''pulpeta''. It is made with ground beef and ground ham, and stuffed with hard boiled eggs, and it is cooked on the stovetop. The dish was brought to public attention, albeit mistakenly referred to as a sausage, in the second episode of the third season of ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'', entitled "Food for Thought". However, due to Cuba's strict laws regarding the purchasing of meat products, especially beef, meatloaf is not a common dish in Cuba.


Jewish cuisine

In
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of Traditional food, cooking traditions that was developed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, Northwestern Europe, Northwestern and Northern Europe, Northern Europe, ...
, meatloaf is called ''Klops'' () and can be served cold or hot. It is sometimes filled with whole boiled eggs.


Middle East

In Lebanon, ''
kibbeh Kibbeh (, also kubba and other spellings; ; ) is a popular dish in the Arab world and the Levant in particular based on spiced lean ground meat and bulgur wheat. Kibbeh is considered to be a national dish of Lebanon and Syria. In Levantine ...
'' (ground beef or lamb mixed with Bulgar) can sometimes be formed into a loaf and baked. It is sometimes made from raw meat.


North America

Mexican meatloaf is known as ''albondigón'' and is small in size. The first recorded recipe for the modern North American meatloaf dates from the late 1870s. Those preparing the dish were told to chop up whatever meat was on hand, the meat most likely being beef. To that they added salt, pepper, onion, egg and milk-soaked bread. This meatloaf was originally served as a breakfast food. In the US during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, cooking meatloaf was a way for families to stretch the food budget by using an inexpensive type of meat and left-over ingredients. Along with
spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
s, it was popular to add cereal grains,
bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...
or saltine crackers to the meatloaf to add bulk and stretch the meat. This tradition of additions still lives on, but with new goals: primarily, producing a lower-fat dish with superior binding and consistency. Meatloaf recipes in North America are typically made with a
sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...
or
relish A relish (a pickle-based condiment) is a cooking, cooked and pickling, pickled culinary dish made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs, typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a p ...
, often applied before cooking. Many recipes call for a
tomato sauce Tomato sauce (; ; ) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish, in others it is a condiment. Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, s ...
to be poured over the loaf, which forms a crust during baking. A simple
brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...
or onion gravy or a can of cream of mushroom soup can substitute for tomato-based sauce, but the meatloaf is prepared in a similar manner.
Barbecue sauce Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated as BBQ sauce) is a sauce used as a marinade, basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork, beef, and chicken. It is a ubiquitous condiment in the Southern United ...
, tomato
ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...
, or a mixture of ketchup and prepared mustard may also be used. This style of meatloaf may be topped with a "meatloaf sauce" consisting of ketchup and
brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...
. Another variety of meatloaf, in the same style, is prepared by "frosting" the loaf with
mashed potatoes Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American English, American, Canadian English, Canadian, and Australian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butt ...
, drizzling a small amount of
butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
over the top, and then browning it in the oven. Some recipes are even more imaginative. There are vegetarian meatloaves, vegan meatloaves, even meatloaves made with ahi tuna, French fries, Fritos, Spanish chorizo, mint and pine nuts. Sculpted versions such as feetloaf are also becoming popular, especially on social media. Meatloaf in North America is normally served warm, as part of a main course, but it can also be sliced as a
cold cut Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in ...
(and then used in sandwiches). This dish can be considered a typical
comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone and may be characterized by its high caloric nature associated with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual or it may apply to a ...
in Canada and the US, and so it is served in many
diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
s and restaurants. Indeed, meatloaf is said to have attained iconic comfort food status along with hamburgers, fried chicken and mac and cheese. In a 2007 poll by ''
Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...
'', meatloaf was the seventh-favorite dish of Americans. In Puerto Rican cuisine, meatloaf is known as ''albondigón'' or ''butifarrón al horno''. Puerto Rican style meatloaf is made with ground pork, beef, turkey,
adobo or (Spanish language, Spanish: marinade, sauce, or seasoning) is the immersion of food in a stock (or sauce) composed variously of paprika, oregano, Edible salt, salt, garlic, and vinegar to preserve and enhance its flavor. The Portuguese cu ...
,
Worcestershire sauce Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (UK: ) is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century ...
, milk, ketchup, potatoes, red beans, breadcrumbs, parsley, and a hard-boiled egg in the middle.


See also

* * * *
Meatloaf Recipe with Onion Soup Mix


References


External links

* * {{Dutch cuisine Meat dishes Cooking techniques Baked foods Roman cuisine American cuisine Belgian cuisine German cuisine Swedish cuisine Finnish cuisine Danish cuisine Smoked meat Ground meat