Meatloaf is the girl with a bad reputation that most people would love if they just got to know her. Warm, comforting, and tasty as leftovers, meat loaf is homestyle boy bait at its finest. Of course, plenty of girls dig mom food too. This is a perfect meal when your honey’s had a bad day (as long as they’re not vegetarian).
The College Date version is kicked up a bit with a bottle of beer and plenty of spice. If your only memories of meatloaf are cafeteria-style, now’s the time to give it another chance.
1 lb ground beef (or lamb, or turkey)
1 bottle of dark beer (taste tested with Boulevard Brewing Co. Bully Porter)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 of one onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. dried basil
2/3 cup dry bread crumbs (you can find packaged bread crumbs anywhere)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (technically optional, but really makes a difference)
salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon), black pepper (generous pinch), and garlic powder (two generous sprinklings)
your choice of topping (see below)
Put the ground beef in a large plastic bowl. Pour in 3/4 cup of beer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder and stir gently to combine. Be gentle; you’ll be mixing more later and you don’t want to pulverize the meat. Just make sure the beer is evenly mixed in. Cover and refrigerate for as much time as you have, no more than a day.
Note: If you don’t remember to marinate in advance, no biggie. Just remember to add the beer later on.
Add eggs, bread crumbs, chopped onion, basil, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir with a fork to combine, adding another sprinkle of salt, pepper, or garlic if you feel the need. Slide the whole mixture into a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. If you don’t have a loaf pan, turn the meat onto a greased cookie sheet or glass casserole pan and shape your own loaf. Slide into a preheated 350° oven and bake for 1 hour.
After one hour, remove the loaf and choose one of the topping options below.
Like Momma’s: mix 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar OR molasses, and a teaspoon dry mustard OR one teaspoon of regular yellow mustard. Spoon over top of meatloaf and bake for another ten minutes.
BBQ: before baking, skip Worcestershire sauce and add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke. The stuff exists, trust me, and it’s deliciously weird. After baking one hour, spoon 1/2 cup BBQ sauce over the top. Bake another ten minutes.
Restaurant Style: prepare a 79¢ packet of mushroom gravy according to directions. Cook meatloaf for 1 hour and ten minutes total. Drizzle gravy over finished meatloaf. Don’t forget to throw away the packet where your honey can’t see.
Take that bad boy out of the oven. Let sit for ten minutes or so, slice, and serve with mashed potatoes.
