Recipe: Barbeque meat loaf

The last time I made this, a friend told me it was one of the tastiest and juiciest meat loaves they had ever tasted.  Even among career chefs, a good meat loaf is cherished and loved.  As far as the cooking goes, sometimes it's those things that have been done time and time again that give the greatest challenges to push it to the next level.  If you have the ability to wrap the loaf up in plastic and steam it for the initial cook, you will maintain the juiciness better than cooking in the oven (I cooked this last one in a combi oven - steam first, then dry heat).  You could sous vide it, but maybe that's going too far - or not.  I list both bread crumbs and croissants here - seriously consider the croissants, and get the ones made with butter.  Since I always use good quality ground beef, I never hesitate to taste the raw mix to check the spices and seasoning - when it tastes good, the cooked product will be incredible.  You will likely see some juices in the pan after cooking, but they are what keep the moisture in the loaf during the process - drain them off before glazing with the barbeque sauce (save them for something else).

You will need:

1.5kg / 3.3lbs                     lean ground beef

1                                         egg

1                                         onion

2 cloves                              garlic

250ml / 1C                         good quality beef stock

500ml / 2C                         chopped up croissants (or 250ml / 1C breadcrumbs)

seasoning to taste:             kosher salt

                                          ground black pepper

                                          cumin

                                          paprika

                                          Worcester sauce

as needed                          vegetable oil

as needed                          barbeque sauce (see previous post)

Method:

 - dice the onion and mince the garlic

 - sweat the onion and garlic well in a pan with a little vegetable oil, then cool

 - chop the croissants into small pieces

 - put the meat in a mixer with a paddle and start on slow speed

 - lightly whisk the egg and add it in 

 - add the onion and garlic

 - add the croissants

 - add the seasonings

 - slowly add the beef stock so it is absorbed into the meat

 - check the flavour

 - lightly oil a loaf pan and pack in the meat

 - wrap the pan tight with plastic wrap and steam for one hour

 - if you can't steam, set the oven to 325F / 163C
 - cover with paper and a layer of tin foil and bake for 1 hour
 - prepare your barbeque sauce
 - remove the pan from the oven / steamer
 - reset the oven to 350F / 175C
 - remove plastic wrap / foil from the pan
 - drain off any excess juice
 - glaze with the barbeque sauce
 - return to the oven and bake about 15 minutes until loaf is firm and the glaze is nicely coloured
 - eat!