Just a Man in His Kitchen: Chicken Meatloaf
Posted by By Frank at 30 October, at 16 : 15 PM Print
Meatloaf. Although it has European origins, it really is a quintessential piece of Americana. Meatloaf is right up there with pot roast, chicken pot pie, and other classic American family dinners. I was a fan of the standard ground beef meatloaf for a long time. After some prodding from the wife to try to make my meatloaf a little more health friendly, I developed this chicken meatloaf recipe that has become a frequent visitor to our dinner table. The tomato herb gravy really adds some nice flavor to it as well. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
CHICKEN MEATLOAF
- 2 lbs ground chicken
- 1/2 cup chopped basil
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)
- 1/4 cup chopped sage (or 1 tbsp rubbed sage)
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups dried oats
- salt
- pepper
TOMATO HERB GRAVY
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 cup chicken stock or broth
- 2 Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced
- 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
- salt
- pepper
Combine all ingredients for the meatloaf together into a large mixing bowl. Be sure the onion is finely diced and add the salt and pepper to taste. Mix all of the ingredients together well with your hands (Don’t be afraid, get in there with your hands. You can always wash them later!).
Once you’ve got everything mixed well, move the contents of the bowl into a greased loaf pan. Get it all level and pretty looking, and then place it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes (or until fully cooked). Remove the meatloaf from the oven (with oven mitts please!!). Allow it to cook for 5 minutes or so before slicing it up and serving it.
But wait! We can’t serve it without the gravy! To make the gravy, add the butter to a saucepan on medium heat and let it melt. Once melted, add the flour and whisk together to start to make your roux. Add a little of the chicken stock in and whisk until you have a yellowish paste. Now slowly add the rest of the stock while whisking. Whisk vigorously to avoid getting any clumps (I mean, who wants clumpy gravy?). Allow the gravy to come to boil and thicken. Add in your diced, peeled tomatoes. If you’re not sure how to peel Roma tomatoes, refer to the tomato sauce recipe. Finally add in the thyme and oregano as well as salt and pepper. Whisk everything together and then allow the gravy to simmer and thicken. You can use an immersion blender to break down the tomato a little if necessary, but be careful not to puree it down too much that the gravy gets thin!
Serve the meatloaf slices with the gravy on top. It’s quite tasty! I decided to serve the chicken meatloaf with some butter free Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and swiss chard. ”Oooh! Those sides sound perfect! How do I make those???” Stay tuned…
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