Meatloaf

[BrianShaw]

Re: Meatloaf

Many North Americans have what I consider to be an irrational attachment to ketchup.

"Irrational" is a very adult way of phasing the situation. I prefer to look at the attachment to ketchup as one of the last vestige of childhood comfort that adults are allowed to engage in. Ketchup is 'comforting' in the same way that thumb-sucking once was.

[Archena]

Re: Meatloaf

Tomato ketchup is good - but if it's not to your taste try one of the others...

Mushroom:

Banana:

Of course, virtually any veggie can be made into ketchup - but you knew that, right?



I admit, banana ketchup isn't high on my 'must try' list, but whatever floats your boat...

Ketchup: it's not just for French fries anymore - not that it ever was...

[gjbingham]

Re: Meatloaf

Meatloaf made of lamb and Italian sausage is my current fav. I threw in some curry and garam marsala a couple of months ago and the wife pitched a fit! The kids just added more ketchup and didn't complain at all.

Funny, now that you all mention it, I never eat the stuff either. Huh! Who knew?

[Alfredo]

Re: Meatloaf

It's always fun to see where these threads meander to, but in the spirit of the original topic title, may I remind everyone that Sunday is Robbie Burns Day and haggis is a meat loaf, too? A squeamish cook's guide to haggis - Times Online.

For the determined (or demented) there is a link there to a recipe. For the truly squeamish, I apologize in advance.

[BrianShaw]

Re: Meatloaf

but in the spirit of the original topic title, may I remind everyone that Sunday is Robbie Burns Day and haggis is a meat loaf, too?

Forgive me, but a mouth full of Haggis would be more than enough to make me want to renounce my Scottish ancestry!

EDIT: even if it were covered with a thick layer of ketchup

[Archena]

Re: Meatloaf

Sausage, arguably; meatloaf, no. Meatloaf has no casing - intestine or stomach.

Okay, some one yank out a recipe for tripe meatloaf - I know that's what's coming next...

Even ketchup has trouble saving tripe...

[egalecki]

Re: Meatloaf

I ate a bite of haggis at a Burns dinner once. It was canned. (who knew they'd CAN the stuff?) There's not enough ketchup in the world to make that acceptable to my taste buds. Not even banana ketchup.

Tripe meatloat would be an improvement, I expect...

[gjbingham]

Re: Meatloaf

West Coast talking here.... Haggis? Whattheheckisthat?

Archena, did I forget to mention that I strip the casing off the sausage - tube of toothpaste style? It adds a nice grease factor to the frequently bone-dry feel of ground beef yuk loaf.

[Archena]

Re: Meatloaf

Egalecki: I've seen it fresh (relatively speaking) - I didn't have the courage to try it, with or without ketchup. You're braver than I am.

GJBingham: Haggis is sweet meats - and just about everything else - ground up, aged (putting it kindly) and stuffed into a sheep's stomach. It is then boiled until the smell kills the neighbors. It is served hot in great fanfare to guys who are insecure in their manhood (possibly because they are all wearing skirts) who eat it with as much fake gusto as they can muster to show off how extremely manly they are (the 'if you gross out the girls you must be really macho' theory of manhood. Evidently in addition to the skirt thing they are basing their understanding of manhood on the same theories as fourth graders...).

You can see now why striping the casing from sausage to incorporate it into meatloaf doesn't disturb me, even though as a purist I probably wouldn't use sausage at all...

[Frances]

Re: Meatloaf

Ok people, you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. And seriously, laughing at other countries' traditions is not very clever... wheatever your idea of humour may be.

My godmother lives in Scotland, and whether Haggis be a meatloaf ot not (I personally consider it to be Haggis), let me tell you that a well made Haggis is truley delicious. Let's face it, most things that come out of a can taste awful. And like meatloaf, in a commercial setting Haggis can be an invitation to use up all kinds of things.

Here you go George, some real info: Haggis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Delicious, specially washed down with some nice Scottish Whiskey.


Archena, humour is fine, but please tune down the Xenophobia a bit, ok? I'd like to see you snigger at the kilts of a couple of tall brawney Scottmen in real life - now that would be brave...

[gjbingham]

Re: Meatloaf

Good link to Wiki Frances. I think I'll pass on the haggis though. Perhaps if I get to Scotland someday, and already have a couple of pints of Scottish ale in me, I might give it a try.

Thanks for the lesson!

How about a new thread Frances? This one's been worked pretty hard.

G.

[Alfredo]

Re: Meatloaf

As usual, Frances has nailed it. The proper "gravy" for a haggis is a pour of scotch whiskey - " uisge beatha" in Gaelic, literally "the water of life". Make mine a nice smoky single malt, please.

And what the heck, this is a great weekend - besides Robbie Burns Day, it's also Chinese New Year. If you can't handle haggis, go for the dim sum!

[sarah h]

Re: Meatloaf

There are likely as many variations of haggis as there are of meatloaf - if you don't like haggis, perhaps you just haven't had the right one yet (like me and meatloaf, before last week). These days, they are not typically made with the 'offal' bits either - just the more acceptable ground lamb or beef or combination. No sheep's stomach either, just manufactured boiling bags to hold it together while cooking.

I've attended a few Burns Night Suppers at a friend's house in recent years, where her husband, a kilt-wearing Glaswegian, serves up his own homemade haggis that arrives at the table accompanied by the bagpipes, courtesy of a piper hired especially for the occasion. A former chef, his haggis is delicious and has become legendary in some circles - when he still ran a catering business, he even filled orders from Scotland at times!

Unfortunately, the event couldn't take place this year and the recipe is a closely-guarded secret, however, I made a meatloaf last night that I dubbed a Homage to Haggis, which included a lamb & beef combo, oats and cinnamon, among other things - turned out pretty tasty and perhaps I'll post it once I get it written down.

Tonight I will toast the bard with a wee dram or two of 'usquebaugh' - and maybe if I have three or four, and make them big ones, I can even stop fuming about the fact that we are on Day 47 of a transit strike here in this city and yet another week of driving duty is looming large. But that's a different story ...

Happy Robbie Burns Day!

[dusty]

Re: Meatloaf

Last I visited this thread there was no talk of haggis. Honestly, I didn't even take the time to learn exactly what a haggis is.

Sorry.

But here is my meatloaf that I cooked for the family tonight with the residual heat from bread yesterday.

And I cooked in the only christmas present-dish that I hadn't used yet. Now I can answer "yes" to all of the "have you tried it yet?" questions.

Thanks Frances.

And, although that isn't ketchup on top, it is a more spicy chili-like sauce that is alot like ketchup. And if that jar wasn't in the fridge, it would be ketchup.

dusty

[gjbingham]

Re: Meatloaf

Dustman, I use BBQ sauce sometimes just for fun. It's pretty yummy!

Sarah! Long time no talk. Hope you had a good holiday season. I'm still passing on the Haggis!