How to Make Beef and Pork Meat Loaf

Nora is starting on the potty. She asked for the potty. I did not ask her. She walked into the bathroom Tuesday morning, pointed, and said "Nora." I said "you want to try." She said "yes." I got the little potty down from the closet and put it in her room. She sat on it. Nothing happened. She got up. She said "okay." That was the end of day one. By Friday she had had two successful sessions and three unsuccessful ones. She is not yet reliably requesting it. But she is interested. This, I am told by Maureen and by every nurse friend I have, is the critical variable. If the child is interested, the rest is scaffolding. If the child is not interested, you are in for a long war. So far, interest. I am proceeding with cautious optimism and four pairs of small cotton underwear and a very generous roll of paper towels.

Liam's preschool had its spring thing Friday — a picnic and a song performance, the four-year-olds singing about the weather with hand motions. Liam did the hand motions. He did them precisely. He did not sing. He mouthed the words. The teacher said this is a four-year-old thing — boys especially, it is not a lack of engagement, it is a self-consciousness that arrives in the fourth year. I accepted this explanation. I have also observed that Liam mouths the words to songs in the car, which is a different argument, but I will not fight it. He is who he is.

Sean made meatball subs Saturday. Not our usual — he had seen a recipe in a magazine at the dentist's and copied it into his notes app. Beef and pork meatballs, the long-braised marinara, real Italian rolls from the bakery on Adams Street, provolone, a quick broil. They were excellent. Liam ate a whole half of one, which is the largest concentrated protein consumption of his life. Nora ate the bread and a meatball. Sean sat back after his third and looked at me and said "I should make these more." I agreed. The meatball sub has now entered our rotation, which is how a family recipe begins.

Saturday is still pancake day. Sean has been making his blueberry buttermilks with the consistency of a religious rite every Saturday since Liam was a baby. He made them this week. The first one burned, as always, because the griddle needs to run for a second longer than you think before the first one goes on. The first one always burns. Sean eats the first one. This is the ritual. I watch it from the kitchen table with my coffee and my reading glasses and I think about the fact that this is the ritual, that this is a Saturday in this specific phase of our marriage, that these are the Saturdays we are having and the pancakes we are getting.

The clinic: an average week. A patient I have been caring for for three years died Monday. I knew it was coming. The family knew. It was the end people call a good one, in the specific oncology sense, which is that nothing cruel happened and the person was ready and the people around her were not surprised. I did not go to the service. I wrote a card. I drove home.

Sean copying that recipe into his notes app at the dentist’s office is exactly how our best family meals happen — quietly, without announcement, and then suddenly on the table on a Saturday. The beef and pork combination is what made it work, and it’s the same logic behind this meat loaf: two meats together do something neither one can do alone. If you’re looking to start your own rotation, this is a reliable place to begin.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr | Total Time: 1 hr 20 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup whole milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup ketchup (for topping)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly grease, or use a 9x5 loaf pan.
Soak the breadcrumbs. In a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs and milk. Let sit 5 minutes until the milk is absorbed — this keeps the loaf tender.
Mix the meat. Add ground beef, ground pork, egg, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and thyme to the breadcrumb mixture. Mix with your hands until just combined. Do not overwork or the loaf will be dense.
Shape the loaf. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan or baking sheet and form into a loaf roughly 9 inches long and 4 inches wide.
Make the glaze. Stir together ketchup, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Spread evenly over the top and sides of the loaf.
Bake. Bake uncovered for 55—65 minutes, until the internal temperature reads 160°F and the glaze is set and slightly caramelized.
Rest and slice. Let the loaf rest on the pan for 10 minutes before slicing. This helps it hold together cleanly.

Nutrition (per serving)

How to Make Beef and Pork Meat Loaf — The Recipe That Started a Family Tradition