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OATS AND BACON MEAT LOAF

Quick-Fix Southern
by Rebecca Lang

I had the unique pleasure of writing a book for Mary Mac's Tea Room in 2005. It was from the cooks at this famous Atlanta restaurant that I learned about adding oats to meat loaf. Many meat loaves have bread crumbs added to help hold the ingredients together. The oats are so much better than bread crumbs and add a richness to the meat that I love.
baking time: 60 minutes
serves 6

INGREDIENTS

· 2 pounds lean ground beef (7% fat)
· 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
· 1 cup diced yellow onion
· 2 cloves garlic, minced
· 2 eggs
· 1/2 cup ketchup
· 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 2 slices bacon

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 °F.

Mix the beef, oats, onion, garlic, eggs, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands is the easiest and fastest way to mix.

Pack the beef mixture into a 4½ by 8½-inch loaf pan. Cut the bacon slices into 4-inch pieces so they will fit on top of the meat loaf without hanging over.

Place the loaf pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 60 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 160 °F.

TIPS:
The term pan refers to a metal baking pan and the word baking dish refers to one made of glass. The two cook very differently and shouldn't be interchanged. Because of the clear sides of the glass dish, food cooks more quickly than if baked in a dark metal pan. If possible, buy both a metal and a glass version of the items you use most.