Mountain View Meatloaf and Leftovers

One thing we make after breaking down a pork shoulder is ground pork, without the added fat, which is perfect for meatloaf when combined with beef or bison. This recipe three meals for us, first with Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles and mushroom marsala sauce or Johnson’s barbeque sauce, then with mashed root vegetables and mushroom sauce, and of course with duck fat potatoes and chimichurri!

Ingredients
Meatloaf
1 lb BJ’s ground pork
1 lb ground beef or bison
8 oz. PA Dutch egg noodles cooked
½ large yellow onion finely chopped
½ red pepper finely chopped
1 large jalapeno finely chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 egg beaten
¾ cup half and half
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp fresh grated horseradish
½ tsp fennel seed ground
2 tbsp olive oil

Sauce
2 tbsp marsala wine
½ tsp molasses
½ tsp brown sugar
1 cup beef stock
1 large shallot finely chopped
½ tsp hot sauce
3-4 oz baby Bella mushrooms chopped
4 oz dehydrated porcini and chanterelle mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter

Heat up a non-stick pan and add the oil, onion, red pepper, jalapeno and allow to sweat till the onions are just opaque. Add the garlic and cook for another minute then remove from the heat.
In a large bowl combine the sausage, beef (or bison), egg, breadcrumbs, panko, Worcestershire, fennel, horseradish, and finally the half and half, which should create a “moat” around the other ingredients.
Next add the hot ingredients and mix to combine minimally. The meat mixture should be loose and creamy looking.
Place the mixture in a 9’X13’ baking dish (glass preferred) and spread out to a depth of about ¾ inch. Place in a preheated 375 °F oven for about 45 minutes, watching for it to “tighten up” then remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes.
Plate one third and refrigerate the rest for leftovers.
While the meatloaf is cooking, in a small pot add the olive oil, allow to heat up, then add the shallots and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes stirring often. Next drop in the marsala and cook for another minute, then add the stock, molasses, brown sugar, and hot sauce, mix to combine and cook down by about 30 percent, stirring often. Once reduced add the butter and stir until well incorporated. Turn off the heat.
Divide the cooked noodles between two plates, then take about 1/3^rd of the meatloaf out of the baking dish to a cutting board, cut cross ways into ½”- ¾” sections and lay over the noodles, then spoon the sauce over both plates and serve.
For leftover meatloaf and noodles, I heat the meat up at 350 °F for about 8 -10 minutes, reduce about ½ cup of Johnson’s barbeque sauce by 25% or so in a saucepan. For the noodles drop 2 tbsp oil, 1 finely chopped shallot, and heat in deep pan, then drop in 2 handfuls of kale, some white balsamic, and 2 cloves of minced garlic -cover for two minutes, mix, and then add the noodles and 2 tbsp of butter- cook on low until heated through.
The second leftover option uses “Smashed Root Vegetables” (in the “Sides” section) for the side, I just reconstitute the mushroom sauce (or make new), or use reduced Johnson’s barbeque sauce, either one is great.
The third variation of this dish utilizes our “Duck Fat Potatoes” (from the “Sides” section) and your favorite chimichurri recipe, we use a version of Mirta Rinaldi’s recipe which uses cilantro (50%) with the parsley and white balsamic vinegar (Food and Wine, September 2021, page 42) but any personal favorite is fine. This version might be my favorite.