How to Make a Perfect Meat Loaf

To make the perfect meat loaf - everyone's favorite childhood food - is the easiest thing in the world. My dad made it for us every week.

The secret is that the very best meat loaf has three kinds of meat in it.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a mixing bowl
• 1lb. each of minced beef, pork, lamb and/or veal
• bread
• half a cup or so of milk
• 1 egg
• flavoring: ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce
• some bacon strips

1. You should use 1lb. each of three of the following: minced beef, or hamburger meat; minced pork; minced lamb; minced veal.
   
   Preheat your oven to 325° F.
   
   Put your meat into a large bowl.

2. Add a chopped Spanish onion, a glug of ketchup, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, some salt and pepper, and a little mustard. I like to add some dried thyme, too.
   
   Mix it all up with your hands - don't be afraid to get them sticky.

3. Next, you soak two slices of bread in some milk - you can use a saucer or a flat dish for this - and then squeeze the excess moisture out of them. Add them to the meat, along with an egg, and mix it all up together.

4. Take a large loaf pan or an oblong casserole dish, and oil it lightly. Then just plop the meat loaf mix into it and shape it into a nice loaf shape.
   
   Now, here is where my dad would lay some strips of bacon along the top. This increases both moisture and flavor. So you lay the bacon, or not, whichever you feel like.

5. Put the loaf into your 325° oven, and let the loaf bake for an hour or more. You don't have to cover it. When it's done it will shrink away from the sides of the pan and the juices will be clear.

6. Don't forget to leave enough so you can have a perfect meat loaf sandwich the next day!