I was intrigued by a deviled meatloaf. We all know deviled is code for “made with mustard” and mustard and meat go great together. I had never had it before but there are a lot of foods in these books that I wasn’t familiar with until I looked it up and realized how popular it was in the past or in different areas. When I googled “deviled meatloaf” with quotation marks however I did not get any real results. None. This is similar to my results with another recipe I adapted from the same book! Very mysterious. What was going on at the Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site that they were contributing all these unusual recipes?
While I liked the idea, I found Josie Voorhees’ recipe a little odd. Why the need for a ton of water in the sauce? Tomato sauce is quite watery already. Could she have meant tomato paste? Does that come with onions in it? Has it ever? Using 4 oz of paste in the meat mixture did not seem very appetizing–it’s dry and thick. It was a little bit of a puzzle but ultimately I decided to use sauce which comes in 8 oz cans more often than paste does, added some dehydrated onions (I know from experience they work well in meatloaf and don’t give off as much liquid as fresh) and instead of green peppers, I used some pickled jalapeños for more of a kick. I used pickled pepper juice instead of regular vinegar in the topping and omitted the sugar. She had you baste the meatloaf during the cooking process but it was not necessary for this recipe. If I am making meatloaf, I want zero hands-on time once it goes into the pan!
I increased the amount of meat called for from 1 1/2 pounds to 2 pounds so it fits better in a standard sized loaf pan. I used my meatloaf pan which is a standard loaf pan with holes in the bottom and a second pan underneath to catch the juices. 1 1/2 pounds is just a little skimpy in my experience.
I wasn’t sure how the meatloaf was going to be. This recipe seemed almost too simple! I like meatloaf. It is not something I grew up eating but over the years and visits to diners, I’ve become a fan. It is quick to mix up and normally yields a good amount of leftovers. The trick to not becoming bored with it is to switch up the flavors and this accomplished that.
Both of us enjoyed it a lot! It was actually super flavorful and moist. The peppers gave it a little kick but a lot of flavor. I don’t know if I would have guessed how much mustard powder was in it but it gave the meatloaf a really savory flavor. My husband cannot wait until we can make meatloaf melts with cheddar another day with the leftovers. Today I served it with roasted radishes but it would be great with mashed potatoes.
Deviled Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 pounds meatloaf mix (a commerical mix of veal, pork and beef) or 90% lean ground beef
- ¾ cup fresh bread crumbs dried is fine too!
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pickled jalapeño
- 8 oz canned tomato sauce, divided use
- 1-2 tablespoons dehydrated onions
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons ground mustard, divided use
- 1-2 teaspoons liquid from the jar of pickled jalapeños
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Light grease a standard loaf pan. I prefer using a meatloaf pan, see note.
- In a large bowl, mix meat, bread crumbs, pepper, 1/2 can sauce, dehydrated onions, half of the ground mustard, salt, pepper and the egg. Shape into loaf in the prepared pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the rest of the sauce, mustard and pickle juice. Pour over loaf in an even layer.
- Bake about 45 minutes or until fully cooked. Allow to stand 5 minutes then slice and serve.
Notes
Updated and adapted from Josie Voorhees’ recipe for Deviled Meatloaf appearing in Cooking Favorites: Recipes From Employees and Friends of Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site (undated)