Folding blood into meatloaf
Last night I went to McCullough‘s for a class on aspic and working with blood. But they only sell blood by the gallon, and we needed a scant 1/4 cup for the terrine we were making. It seemed the rest was going unused, so I asked if I could take some home. You know, just for fun.
Among the gems I learned there: blood is a great binder for meat and, in this case, a great substitute for eggs. I happened to be making porcini meatloaf today anyway, was short on eggs, and had a quart of blood in my fridge… why not give it a try!? Blood Meatloaf with Porcini Mushrooms for dinner.
I digress
My mom would be sick thinking about it. Every pig slaughtered by a relative growing up must have come with a customary ration of blood sausage (along with jugs of pig parts in salt loitering into the next season). I’ve heard her defame blood several times. Just another food that she never wants to eat again.
So with her it seems to have skipped a generation.
In the meantime, if my 101-year old grandma considers it ‘food,’ I’ll take it. In fact, nothing about blood seems squeamish to me. I’ve never had my hands on blood before and I have a sort of reverence for it. It seems on par with liver for nutrient density. I’ve heard stories about the Masaai of Kenya performing ‘blood letting’ on animals to access this sacred food.
Blood Meatloaf with Porcini Mushrooms
So, like everything in life, just sort of make it up as you go along.
It starts out as you would expect. Ground beef and pork, a little bit of ground liver for good measure, aromatics including herbs, plenty of salt, and of course, the porcini mushrooms (dried, but rehydrated in boiling water for a bit).
Meatloaf ingredients to be mixed
I measured out 1/4 cup of blood, added arrowroot to thicken it a bit, and voilà.
Blood with added arrowroot to thicken
Once in the loaf pan, I added a generous layer of lard, to keep it from drying in the oven. Slices of lardo or bacon could work as well.
Blood meatloaf nestled in pan, and covered in lard
Finishing touches
Taste for seasonings
I did take a snitch of meatloaf and pan fry it for a moment to taste. The teaser passed taste tests from hungry children, “It’s really good, Mommy, but it’s hot, too.”
But personally, I wanted more mushroom and less liver/blood. I decided to add sauteed mushrooms on top instead of adding too much value to something that was admittedly, already working. And I was careful to go slow and low – unlike my speedy attempt to sample on the stovetop.
I used a water bath for baking and settled on 300 F. In the end, it took nearly 80 minutes for the Blood Meatloaf with Porcini Mushrooms to come up to 160 degrees in the middle. The liver/blood were there, but not too strong in the end, as I hoped.
Homemade blood meatloaf with porcini mushrooms
I suppose that had I planned on using blood, I would have omitted the liver, but I already had these ingredients on hand. And since it’s likely that blood may not always be available, the liver is a welcome contributor of nutrient-density when eggs are reinstated as the meat binder.
Finally, slices of meatloaf were put to sleep on a bed of buttery mashed potatoes; sauteed mushrooms, parsley and chives to garnish. Serve with a side salad.
Thanks again to McCullough for the blood and inspiration!
Blood Meatloaf with Porcini Mushrooms
Ingredients
For the meatloaf
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/2 lb ground or chopped beef (or other) liver
- 1 shallot
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated
- 1/4 c chopped parsley
- 1.5 oz dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated and chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 c blood, pork or other (substitute a couple of eggs and omit the arrowroot if not available)
- 3 T arrowroot
- 1 T + 1/2 c lard
- 1 t chives, chopped
- 1 t parsley, chopped
Perfect sauteed mushrooms
- 3 T lard (or butter)
- 1/2 shallot (or 1 green onion), minced
- 1 lb mushrooms, any type, sliced
- 1 t fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 t salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Place porcini mushrooms in small bowl and add boiling water to cover. Weight with a cup and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Add beef, pork, liver, shallot, celery, carrot, parsley, rehydrated porcini mushrooms, salt and pepper. Loosely mix.
- Measure out blood into a small bowl and, one tablespoon at a time, add arrowroot and whisk until blood has thickened a bit. Add blood to meat and fold into the mixture until evenly integrated.
- Grease the baking pan with a tablespoon of lard. Press the meatloaf mixture into the pan. Use the remaining 1/2 cup lard to cover the top of the meatloaf.
- Create a water bath by placing filled loaf pan into a roasting pan. Use a pitcher or cup to add hot tap water as high as you are comfortable for transport to and from the oven. Bake until a thermometer reads 160F in the coolest spot (middle above the water line).
- Meanwhile, for the mushrooms: Heat a pan on medium-high, add lard. When melted, add shallot, sliced mushrooms, lemon juice and salt. Mix all together, then cover the pan and turn the heat down to low. Simmer covered for 8 minutes. Remove the cover, turn heat to high and saute until all the liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are just starting to brown.
- Let cool a bit and invert loaf onto cutting board for slicing. Serve with sauteed mushrooms and chives and parsley to garnish, ideally on a bed of mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
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