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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Recipes: Fourmilab Plausibly Paleo Meatloaf

Here is a modified version of the Fourmilab Can't Fail Meatloaf recipe which is closer to the guidelines of the paleo diet. (If you don't know what that is, read my reviews of The Paleo Diet and The New Evolution Diet and, of course, the books themselves.)

Ingredient Quantity
Ground bison 1000 g
Ground lamb 500 g
Chopped onion 1½ cup
Eggs 3
Worcestershire sauce 3 Tbsp
Oregano (dried) 3 tsp

Preheat the oven to 175°C in circulating air mode if available. Place the cracked eggs, oregano, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl and blend until well mixed. Put the ground bison, lamb, chopped onion, and blended eggs and spices into a large bowl and mix well.

Mold into a glass or aluminium baking pan and place in the preheated oven. If the pan is over-full, it may bubble over, so if you're worried, place a baking tin beneath the pan. Let it bake for 90 minutes; if you prefer going by core temperature, look for 72°C in the middle of the meatloaf.

Remove from the oven and if there's fat around the outside of the pan, drain it and feed it to the hogs or otherwise dispose of it responsibly. Let the meatloaf cool; if you indulge immediately, slices are prone to disintegrate as you remove them from the pan.

This recipe makes about five servings. It's great as leftovers, either cold or reheated.

I have precisely zero interest in debating the “paleo purity” of this or any other recipe with purists and fanatics. I have adapted the recipe to the goals of paleo by eliminating the bread crumbs and salt from the original recipe (I was worried the loaf would tend to crumble without bread crumbs as a binder, but in fact the eggs hold it together perfectly well), and by substituting ground bison and lamb meat for beef and pork. Bison is a very lean meat, and the lamb compensates for this, avoiding a dry and crumbly result. If lamb is on your paleo no-go list, feel free to experiment with other ground meats.

I won't tell if you enjoy this with catsup.

Posted at 20:38 Permalink