Stuffed meatloaf

Stuffed meatloaf – flavorful juicy meat, stuffed with mushrooms, ham, smoked cheese, boiled eggs, carrots and pickles – this is one fancy meal, perfect for a special occasion, or holiday.

This stuffed meatloaf recipe is a bit more involved, but the effort will be totally worth it!  It’s a traditional Bulgarian meatloaf recipe and it’s usually made for a special occasion.  With Christmas just around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect time to share this gem.

Growing up, this was the only meatloaf I knew, and every household will make it pretty much the same way.  It’s not your standard meatloaf recipe for sure – no tomatoes in this one, but instead a fancy filling, that not just looks impressive when you cut through it, it tastes amazing.

The classic version only uses carrots, pickles and boiled eggs to fill in the meatloaf, but my version strays a bit from tradition, as I add a few more ingredients that I believe give more depth and smokiness to the meatloaf.

The recipe is based on a distant childhood memory I have.  It’s a very blurry memory by now, but I remember being home alone one evening, and my neighbor brought me a piece of meatloaf which was the juiciest, most delicious meatloaf I’ve tasted.   It had mushrooms, cheese and smoked ham in addition to the pickles, eggs and carrots, and it tasted out of this world.
Maybe I was  too hungry, or maybe it was really the most delicious meatloaf…I can’t say, nor can I get the actual recipe now.  However, over the years, I’ve kept this meatloaf in mind, as I’ve molded my own recipe around it.

To get a juicy, moist meatloaf, you need to use fatty meat.  I often use only ground pork, when I find a good marbled ground meat.  Most ground beef is too lean, and will result in a dry meatloaf.  If you can find 80% lean meat or less, go for it.  If you can’t find a fatty meat, add some oil to the mixture.  I’ve also used chopped bacon on occasion.  Another trick to make it moist is using eggs and bread, soaked in milk.

Unlike the traditional stuffed meatloaf, which has a more fresh, herbal taste, I like to accentuate the meat flavor by adding a few smoked ingredients in the filling, as well as flavoring the meat with cumin, instead of the fresh parsley, normally used here.   I add smoked mozarella, and smoked ham in the filling, for extra smoky effect.
‘Sealing’ the meatloaf with an egg wash, and a little flour prevents the cracking of the meat, and keeps all the juices inside.

I like roasting shallots, and carrots in the same pan in which I roast the meatloaf, and they turn out beautifully flavored, tender and caramelized.  This is totally optional, but will result in a nice side dish a the same time.

You can serve the meatloaf with a green salad, or other sides of choice.  Just remember to let the meatloaf rest for 10-15 minutes after roasting, before you slice it.

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Stuffed meatloaf

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 30 mins

 

Stuffed meatloaf - flavorful juicy meat, stuffed with mushrooms, ham, smoked cheese, boiled eggs, carrots and pickles - this is one fancy meal, perfect for a special occasion, or holiday.

Course: Main Dish

Servings: 10 -12

Calories: 470 kcal

Author: Viktoria

Ingredients

For the ground meat mix:

• 1 lbs ground beef (get the fattiest ground beef possible - I used 85% lean)
• 1 lbs ground pork (80%-85% fat)
• 1 onion (grated, or finely chopped)
• 2 Tbs dry summery savory
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 slices of bread (crust removed)
• 50 g milk (for soaking the bread)

For the filling:

• 2-3 carrots (boiled, sliced into long matchsticks)
• 5-6 pickled cornichons
• 4 boiled eggs
• 100 g smoked mozarella , shredded
• 200 g sauteed mushrooms
• 100 g smoked ham , diced

For the top:

• 1 eggwhite
• 1 Tbs flour
• 1-2 Tbs olive oil
• a handful of shredded cheese (optional)

For the roasted vegetables (if making):

• 1 lbs shallots
• 1 lbs carrots
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Remove the crust from the bread slices, and cut into small pieces. Soak the bread pieces in the milk, until they are soft.
2. In a large bowl, mix the 2 types of ground meat, the spices, the grated onion, the eggs, and the soaked bread (no need to squeeze dry), until fully blended. Let rest in the fridge for 1/2 - 1 hour.
3. While the meat is resting, boil the carrots (about 15 min), drain and cut into long match sticks.
4. Simultaneously boil the eggs (8 min), peel and leave whole.
5. Saute the mushrooms with a little oil, salt and pepper.
6. Chop the ham, and the pickles.
7. Shred or chop the smoked mozzarella cheese.
   
   

Assemble the meatloaf:

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F.

2. Spread the meat on a parchment paper into a rectangular shape (approximately 12' x 10"), until it's about 1 cm thick.

3. Start layering the filling ingredients in the middle, along the long side of the rectangle: place the sauteed mushrooms at the bottom, add the shredded cheese, chopped ham, chopped pickles.

4. Flatten the filling a bit, and lay the peeled boiled eggs, one after the other.
   

5. Add the boiled carrots sticks on both sides.

6. With the help of the parchment paper, take both sides of the meat and bring up, to shape like a log. Using your fingers, 'seal' any gaps. Place the meatloaf, seam side down, on a greased baking pan.
   

7. Mix the egg white with 1 Tbs flour and brush over the meat. Drizzle with olive oil, and salt.

8. Quarter the shallots, cut the carrots in thick match sticks, and add to the pan, on both sides of the meatloaf. Add oil, salt and pepper, and about 1 cup of water to the pan.

9. Bake for about 45 minutes, take out, sprinkle some cheese on top of the meatloaf (optional), and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

10. Let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing (to preserve the juices inside).

11. Serve with the roasted veggies, salad or other side of choice.