Meatloaf en Croûte (Wrapped in Puff Pastry)

I hadn't made meatloaf in ages...for some reason I was over it in a big way. Yet a week ago I decided we needed something different for dinner and I went ahead and bought some lean ground beef on sale that week. I love it when I get in the kitchen and I am hungry and motivated to make something that I hope really turns out great! This was one of those days and it was a huge success! As I was defrosting the the meat, I started to go through the ingredients I thought would make this meatloaf "THE" meatloaf I would forever make thereafter...and I had just bought some puff pastry the week before and thought it would be interesting to make a Beef Wellington kind of meatloaf...and then wondered if this had been done before...and google confirmed that it had indeed been done before...so it isn't original but this recipe is a good one. I wrote down everything I did and now I share it with you ;) P.S. I did the same things with Salmon today and it was very yummy as well. I just changed the ingredients some...here is picture of the Salmon en Croûte.


NOTE: I used 4 lbs of meat for this recipe and it made us 2 family sized meatloaves and 1 medium meatloaf...so if you want just one good sized meatloaf cut this recipe in half and use 1 1/2- 2 lbs of ground beef.


You will need:

4 pounds lean ground beef
1 225gr. box of mushrooms, diced
2 small onions, diced
5 strips of bacon, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 box of chicken flavored Stove Top Stuffing
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 egg, beaten to eggs wash the pastry
1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup diced canned tomatoes
2 sheets puff pastry
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350F and make sure your puff pastry is defrosted. If you take it out of it's box but leave it wrapped while you prepare your meatloaf it should still be cold by the time you are ready to use it.

2 In a frying pan on med-high heat fry the bacon until it starts to get a little crispy around the edges but the center is still tender.

3 In the same frying pan still on med-high heat, using all that flavorful and not-so-good-for you bacon and bacon grease...add your onions, bell pepper and mushrooms and sauté your vegetables until the mushrooms are tender and shiny. I like to season with salt and pepper not only for added flavor but the salt helps to soften the veggies quicker. Don't cook the mixture dry- you want to have some pan juices for added moisture. Turn off heat when done and let cool.

4 In a small mixing bowl ( or the pouch it comes in...is what I did, lol), add the 1/2 cup of milk to the stuffing mix. Mix it well and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. This will allow the milk to be absorbed fully.

5 In a large mixing bowl combine the ground beef, eggs, milk soaked stuffing, ketchup, sautéed bacon and veggies and their pan juices, and 3/4 cup diced canned tomatoes with your HANDS!!! Yes...with your hands people!! If you are squeamish about touching raw meat, don on some gloves, but by all means, use your hands. Why you ask? Because you don`t want to over mix the meat. Over mixing will produce a paté like meatloaf when what you want is a tender fall apart in your mouth meatloaf- yet it holds together for cooking, cutting, and plating. And never use a mixer to do this!! Hands are the best tool you have in the kitchen when it comes to mixing ;) The proper technique is to fold the ingredients in with your hands making sure your ingredients are properly distributed in the process. Season well with salt and pepper.
NOTE: How do you know that the raw meat mixture is seasoned enough? Take a tablespoon amount and put in a thin layer on a plate. Microwave it for 2 mins approx. and taste it. Season accordingly.

6 On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, lightly roll out the puff pastry sheets. Gently stretch it out so it will cover your loaf well. Form a loaf in the center of the dough and fold the two sides over the middle. There is no need to completely cover and seal the edges, leaving and opening will simply look like every other slice you cut...meatloaf in the middle with puff pastry crust.

7 On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, take your meatloaf by the sides of the floured parchment paper, place your hand over the pastry covered meatloaf and turn it over and onto the parchment lined baking sheet. You now have a nice unblemished pastry covered meatloaf ;)

8 Using a well beaten egg and a pastry brush, wash the puff pastry with egg. This will give it a nice shiny golden finish. Cook for 50 minutes to an hour. I always keep an instant meat thermometer in the kitchen to see when the meat is ready. Cook until it is 150-155F inside the thickest part of the meatloaf- only piercing it half way through. Remember it will continue to cook for another 5 degrees after taking it out of the oven.
Slice and serve with gravy or a Roasted Red Pepper sauce and any choice of sides.