Australia - Australian Meatloaf

You're probably thinking, "What's the difference between American meatloaf and Australian meatloaf?" I had the same question. It is very similar to any meatloaf we would have in the United States. Upon further research, Australian meatloaf uses a much leaner, grass-fed beef, where as American beef is much fattier. So the taste of the Australian meatloaf has a more distinct flavor.

Now for a few fun facts from Down Under! First, Australia is home to the world's most venomous snakes (taipan and brown snake), most venomous spider (Sydney funnel-web), and most venomous jellyfish (box jellyfish). But the wombat also calls Australia home. This marsupial burrows, but excretes cube-shaped poop! And lastly, Australia has several pink lakes, ranging from a blush color to magenta, due to it's salt content and microbiome. Makes me want to go see if for myself!!

While cooking, I listened to traditional Australian music... for all of 15 minutes. Not gonna lie, the didgeridoo is kinda annoying! 

 

Australian Meatloaf

Makes 1 loaf, about 8 servings

15 minutes to prepare, 1 hour 15 minutes to cook

 

2 lbs ground beef

1 cup of breadcrumbs (I used Italian flavor, but I would recommend not adding the additional salt mentioned below... or just use original flavor)

1 onion, finely chopped (I'm gaining confidence in the kitchen and that got to my head... if I were to do it again, I would chop my onions even finer. I only regularly diced the onion, not finely chop it.)

2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 1/2 tablespoon of refrigerated minced garlic)

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, salt, and pepper.

3. Gradually add milk to the mixture, and continue to mix until everything is well combined.

4. Transfer the mixture to a 9x5 inch loaf pan, and press it down firmly. (I don't have any loaf pans, so I used a smaller glass casserole dish and shaped the mixture into a loaf mound.)

5. Bake the meatloaf in in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until internal temperature is 160 degrees F. 

6. Remove the meatloaf from the oven, and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

In Australian English.... I earned my badge!