Meatloaf mistake and subsequent recovery

I was throwing together a meatloaf for supper tonight. The plan was to mix equal parts of Italian sausage and ground chuck, add an egg, some bread crumbs, onion, oregano, and some shredded mozzarella. Everything went along according to plan until I stuck the thing in the oven while simultaneously remembering that the onion had yet to be chopped, much less added. So I let the thing bake anyway. About halfway through, I sliced a red onion up and caramelized it in some butter with a little dried thyme. I served the meatloaf on top of the onion and it was excellent. The meatloaf came out with a very firm crust and the sausage and oregano gave it plenty of spice. It was dense but still moist. The onions added a nice smoky sweetness to the meat that worked very well. Added bonus was that the wife does not really like onion in meatloaf but she liked this a lot. Added bonus #2 - I could use the term "deconstructed", which seems to be a stylish term these days.

I may never put onion in my meatloaf again!

So, you didn't screw up, you experienced a bolt of creativity.
Good show.

For some reason, even though I adore hot Italian sausage and use it all the time, I have never made the leap to the logical use of putting it in meatloaf, even though I use ground pork in meatloaf almost invariably! Good grief!

I even do a meatloaf with an inside layer of ricotta cheese. This would be killer with that!

Thanks for this thought, Mike.

(Wow, I feel like such a twit!! )

We use ground sausage (Jimmy Dean Regular) in our meatballs and meatloaf. Not 50/50 though....closer to 40 % Sausage / 60% ground chuck. Plus all the other stuff ( parsley, parmesan, S&P, eggs, cracker, onion etc..)

Richard

For some reason, even though I adore hot Italian sausage and use it all the time, I have never made the leap to the logical use of putting it in meatloaf, even though I use ground pork in meatloaf almost invariably! Good grief!

I even do a meatloaf with an inside layer of ricotta cheese. This would be killer with that!

Thanks for this thought, Mike.

(Wow, I feel like such a twit!! )

Well, I'd never thought of it either until Jenise posted her "Best Meat Loaf Ever" thread back on the old FLDG. That had the sausage and the mozzarella in it, as well as some other things. It's well worth trying out if you haven't yet. The RC is here.