Recipe from Melanie Barnard
Adapted by Molly O'Neill
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- 4(385)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe for choucroute loaf, vaguely Alsatian in its addition of smoked ham, apples, mustard and caraway to the usual mixture of ground chuck, veal and pork, makes astonishing meatloaf and terrific Sunday lunch sandwiches afterward. Paired with sauerkraut, the dish winks at real choucroute and in some ways is even more delicious. For finicky kids, provide a side dish of mashed potatoes. —Molly O'Neill
Featured in: Not Your Mother's Meatloaf
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 1tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1onion, chopped
- 1tart apple, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- ¼pound smoked ham, minced
- 1¼pound mixture of ground chuck, pork and veal
- 1cup rye bread crumbs
- 4tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard
- 1tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1teaspoon caraway seeds
- ½teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 2eggs, lightly beaten
- ⅓cup unsweetened applesauce
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
390 calories; 21 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 27 grams protein; 507 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook the onion over medium heat until it is soft, about 4 minutes. Add the apple and garlic and cook, stirring, for two minutes more. Cool the mixture for a few minutes.
Step
2
In a large mixing bowl, gently combine the onion, apple and garlic mixture, meats, bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons of the horseradish, mustard, thyme, caraway seeds, pepper and eggs. Shape the meat into a 9-by-5-inch loaf or just pat into a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, smoothing the top.
Step
3
In a small bowl, stir together the applesauce and the remaining horseradish. Spread over the meatloaf and bake until the loaf is firm and brown, about 1 hour.
Ratings
4
out of 5
385
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Cooking Notes
JM
This week's meals are already planned but will try this next week.
To address the moisture, I will cover a cooling rack with aluminum foil then poke small holes in the foil. The rack goes over a sheet pan and the free form loaf is set onto the foil. This allows heat to circulate around the loaf and the fat drains into the sheet pan.
I may also cook at 375 rather than 350.
Michelle K.
Absolutely delicious. I let it sit in the fridge for a half hour to firm up before putting it in the loaf pan and that helped with the moisture. I served it with the parsnip erase recipe from the New York Times and it was perfect. Even my picky eater boyfriend ate it all.
Terry
Glad for the advice to extend the cooking time--came out nicely browned and firm after 1 hour and 15 minutes. An unusual set of flavors for an autumn dish served with acorn squash and sauerkraut.
Sara
I didn't see the comments about moisture (No comments on the app, boo!) but I tend to like my onions well caramelized, so the onion-apple mixture in Step 1 was very well done, and I think that probably helped. Cooking the stir-ins to gold and soft also definitely helped with blooming the flavor (as did the knob of butter I melted in). Mine was definitely not too moist.
Forgot I had no applesauce for the topping, so used apricot jam, which worked splendidly.
George McCoy
We love meatloaf, and are always ready to try a new recipe. Loved this one, and made extra to feed friends on a beach trip. It disappeared fast!!
Judy
My husband loved the sound of this recipe and it did not disappoint. We do not eat wheat so I substituted Rice Cracker crumbs for the rye bread crumbs and the flavor was fine but they did not create a firm texture. Even when fully cooked it was still a very "wet" loaf but still very delicious. Will make again and continue to tweak for wheat free bread crumbs..
David
Possibly the best meatloaf I have ever eaten. Followed the directions to a T (except for applesauce on top) and there was no problem at all with it being wet. I did use the convection oven and cooked it in a 9x11 Pyrex dish. Delicious with a smear of mustard and a pile of sauerkraut on the slices.
Sonya Kohut
I skimmed over the comments before baking and thought comments referencing a moisture problem referred to an overly-dry, not overly-wet, meatloaf. I mixed the ingredients extremely thoroughly and passed the ham through a meat grinder for an even texture. I baked in a parchment-lined 9x5 loaf pan, covered for 50m, then broiled to finish, and let the loaf rest for 10m before slicing. I didn't find the loaf overly wet or soggy; it was firm and held together nicely. Hot mustard recommended!
Dan
It was good, but not great; basically meatloaf with apples. I would like it to be cooked a bit more and crispier on the outside next time. It almost seemed a bit soggy to me. I might leave it to cook for another 15 minutes or alternatively cook it on convect for the last 30 minutes.
Joseph
Enjoyed the inspiration this recipe afforded. Don’t hate me, but felt free to adapt recipes. Used diced Wellshire ham and locally sourced ground pork. Went with bread crumbs, eggs, thyme and mustard as suggested. After that adapted in Asian direction. Sautéed diced shallot in a bit of bacon fat, once softened added diced cilantro stems. Sauté got mixed in with the diced ham and pork. Hit the mix with healthy dose of fish and soy sauce. Hour at 350 was perfect. Very, very moist.
MSWIS
I thought this was delicious. Made as written but without the veal.
Christopher
I couldn't find a smoked ham (other than deli style) so I used a lean cut of double smoked bacon. I ground it up in a food processor and it worked quite well. Other than Smithfield, what smoked hams would people recommend?
melany
For those with too “moist” of a loaf: add 1/4 c quick oats into the mix; you will never know they are there and they will improve the flavor and texture.
ken
This was great adding 15 minutes on convection. Don’t understand the comments saying this was bland and unremarkable. Did they leave out some of the ingredients? That’s all I can imagine. Will definitely make this again!
Susan H
Made this last night and it was delicious! Will for sure make this again. Made pretty close to the recipe but added 3 times the caraway and carmelized the onions more before adding garlic and apples. It seemed like a lot of horseradish but it was not. Cooking must mellow.
Laurent
why is this called choucroute loaf? I don't see any choucroute in the gocery list.
CFXK
From the Introductory narrative to the recipe: "Paired with sauerkraut, the dish winks at real choucroute and in some ways is even more delicious.
Good but not as unique as I was hoping
This is a good meatloaf but I was hoping for a more unique flavor combination. In the end it was just another meatloaf. The addition of the sauerkraut and mustard topping on the finished loaf was absolutely necessary to a good end product IMO. If I made this again (not likely) I'd reduce the caraway seeds (just personal preference). Also, like others, I reduced cooking time to 1 hour and popped the oven on convection for the last 20 min to crisp up the outside (otherwise it's soggy and gray).
Jane
This is very similar to a Sam Sifton NYT recipe for kalpudding, a scandinavian dish. Delicious!
Nina
Made exactly as written: delicious! I made the applesauce and the rye bread crumbs the evening before and think that allowing the crumbs to dry overnight is important for the texture. Do use good dark rye bread, it adds a lot of flavor!
Jon
This was really good. Made as directed except used 1lb ground pork and 1lb ground turkey. Let it rest for an hour before baking and 30 min after. Not too wet at all. Came out like a wonderful rustic country pate. The horseradish/applesauce topping is ingenious. I served with braised cabbage and buttered noodles. Hint - you can make rye bread crumbs out of rye bread.
Clara
This was absolutely brilliant. Almost better cold; could make in little loaf shapes for the cafe as a terrine ... used fennel seeds instead of caraway and mixed up the mustard etc before I read to leave some horseradish aside so made up the topping with the whole mix plus apple sauce. Which was from my own apples; the dregs of making apple jelly in December. Who would have thunk. Loved it will make it again for sure.
patty
delicious
Lynn
Rye bread crumbs? Amazon never heard of rye bread crumbs either. Making them from scratch is much too much trouble, I used Panko. I used 3/4 lb. ground turkey, i/2 lb. ground beef and no ham. It was very good. I'll make it again. I'll never know if the unaltered recipe is better.
Reuel
Enjoyed this very much, I used leeks (not onions); panko (not rye); pancetta (not ham). I think the ham would give a smokiness that I missed. Really came out well and am looking forward to a sandwich made with the leftovers.
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