Mean Chef's Meatloaf With Mushroom Gravy

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
• 3 tablespoons dijon mustard, plus
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon tabasco sauce
• 1 cup milk
• 2 lbs ground beef (equal parts beef, lamb, and veal preferred)
• 2/3 cup crushed saltine
• 1/4 cup minced flat leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 8 ounces thinly sliced bacon
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (8 ounces)
• 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock (store-bought or homemade)
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
• fresh ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• 2 pour the oil into a sauté pan and set over medium-high heat.
• 3 add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• 4 remove from heat and allow to cool.
• 5 in a mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, thyme, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, tabasco sauce, and milk.
• 6 place the ground meat into another bowl and pour the egg mixture over the meat.
• 7 add the saltines, parsley, onion, and garlic to the bowl.
• 8 season with salt and pepper.
• 9 roll up your sleeves, and knead the meat together with the other ingredients until well blended (if you like, cook a small portion of the mixture in a pan, taste, and adjust seasoning).
• 10 transfer to a cookie sheet and form into a loaf.
• 11 if using the bacon, wrap the slices lengthwise over the top and tuck them under the loaf, to completely cover the meat.
• 12 bake for 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf reads 160 degrees.
• 13 if the bacon on the top is not as crisp as you would like, put the meatloaf under the broiler for a few minutes.
• 14 remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
• 15 slice and serve with mushroom gravy (mean chef's mushroom gravy) and mashed potatoes mashed potatoes - master recipe.
• 16 mushroom gravy (mean chef's mushroom gravy): melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat.
• 17 add the mushrooms and sauté until brown, about 7 minutes.
• 18 stir in the flour; it will become very pasty.
• 19 cook this roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• 20 it will stick to the bottom of the pan a little bit; that's okay.
• 21 stir in the stock, wine, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil.
• 22 cook the sauce at a lively simmer for 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly and scraping any crusty bits that adhere to the bottom of the pan.
• 23 serve in a sauceboat.