Meatloaf Isn’t Over Done, It Only Looks Like It Is

For years, I made meatloaf the way my mother did, using dry onion soup to season the ground beef and crunched-up saltines or torn white bread to fill out the loaf and bind the ingredients. But that soup mix is terribly salty and the whole thing ended up a touch uninspired.

Then, a few years ago, I wrote a story with a series of recipes for the All-American meatloaf, including Ed Debevic’s burnt diner meatloaf from Michael McLaughlin’s “Fifty-Two Meat Loaves” (Simon & Schuster). I haven’t made meatloaf any other way since.

Ed Debevic’s is a chain of 1950s-style diners with locations in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Osaka, Japan. The restaurants make the meatloaves and let the flavors mellow for a day before reheating to serve.

Don’t let the name fool you; the “burnt” refers to the color that the tomato paste “frosting” takes on while baking.

Ed Debevic’s Burnt Diner Meatloaf

3 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 cups finely chopped onion

1 large, heavy red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

5 garlic cloves, minced

3 eggs

1/3 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)

2-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds ground beef (see note)

1-1/2 cups fine, dry, seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup tomato paste

In large skillet, warm olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic and cook, tossing and stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Position rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Crumble beef into large bowl. Add egg mixture and partially combine. Add onion-bell pepper mixture and bread crumbs and combine lightly but thoroughly.

Pack meat mixture into 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan, mounding slightly; smooth top with back of spoon or a rubber spatula. Spread tomato paste in an even layer over top of loaf.

Place loaf pan in larger pan; a 9- by 13- by 2-inch pan will work. The larger pan will catch the fat that cooks out of the meatloaf.

Bake for 2 hours, or until top is lightly blackened and an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf registers 145 degrees. Let stand on rack for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve hot or cold.

Loaf can be prepared 1 day ahead; wrap and refrigerate. Slice loaf, wrap each slice individually in plastic and reheat in microwave oven or wrap in foil and rewarm in preheated 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 568 calories, 34 grams fat (54 percent fat calories), 21 grams carbohydrate, 222 milligrams cholesterol, 1,182 milligrams sodium.

Note: Ground pork can be substituted for some of the ground beef.