Garlicky Garlic Meatloaf

Meatloaves are simple to make, quick to assemble, unpretentious to serve and everyone loves them! The simplicity comes from the choice of ingredients – just about anything you would serve with a meatloaf can go inside a meatloaf or you can keep it modest and let the flavor come from herbs and spices or simply your choice of meats.

Designer meatloaves with big chunks of non-meat ingredients are delicious and great fun but thinly slicing cold leftovers for sandwiches can be challenging.

I’ve never made a meatloaf intending that it only be for sandwiches but if I were going to do that, this would be the one. It has a smooth texture, simple but intense flavor and slices easily cold or hot. And did I mention the garlic? This is what you would expect from a deli-made meatloaf sandwich.


Garlicky Garlic Meatloaf
Yield: Two 1½ Pound Loaves (8 servings)     Preparation Time: 30 Minutes     Cooking Time: 1½ Hours


• ½ Cup Finely Diced Roasted Red Pepper
• 2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
• ½ Teaspoon White Wine Vinegar
• ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ¼ Teaspoon Dried Basil
• ¼ Teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1 Container Beef Stock Concentrate (see Tips and Trending)
• 1½ Pounds Ground Beef Chuck
• 1½ Pounds Ground Pork
• 2 Medium Yellow Onions, quartered
• 6 Cloves Garlic, smashed and peeled
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1 Cup Dried Breadcrumbs


Preparation Steps

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Step 2. Combine the red pepper, olive oil, vinegar, salt, basil, oregano and beef concentrate in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Stir until the concentrate melts and then remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Step 3. Tear off small portions of the beef and pork and alternately place them in a large mixing bowl.

Step 4. Put the onions and garlic in a food processor and process to form a runny paste then add to the meats.

Step 5. Add the cooled Pepper mixture, the eggs and breadcrumbs to the meat and use your hands to thoroughly mix everything together.

Step 6. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and form two loaves on the foil. Each loaf should be about 8” long, 4” wide and 2” high. Bake for 1¼ hours and then check the internal temperature with an instant thermometer. The temperature should be at least 160ºF, if not return the loaves to the oven for another 15 minutes and then check again. Let the cooked loaves rest for 10 minutes before transferring to a cutting board for slicing.

For sandwiches, chill overnight and thinly slice. Serve on chewy-crust Italian bread with roasted red peppers and a slice of provolone – yum!


Tips and Trending

~ Feel free to add more garlic, but never use less than 6 cloves! Don’t like garlic that much? Then try my recipe Mom’s Meatloaf (was never this good!)

~ Occasionally I turn to a prepared ingredient instead of creating my own. One of these ingredients, concentrated stock, has come into wider availability in recent years. If you’re unfamiliar with these, they are a super-reduced, gelatinized meat or poultry stock that easily melts into hot dishes. I prefer to use Knorr® brand for the flavor and measurement, each container is just over 1 ounce.

~ Ground pork must be cooked to a minimum temperature of 160ºF because the meat has been processed after butchering. Today’s fresh pork cuts (roasts, tenderloins, chops but not ground) are safe and tastiest at 145ºF.

~ Don’t cut this recipe in half if you’re not going to need 8 servings. Just wrap the second loaf in several layers of plastic wrap and a zippered freezer bag and freeze for a couple of weeks. After having this once, you’ll want it again soon and it will be ready when you are!