The Best Homemade Meatloaf w/ Mushroom Gravy

Finished meatloaf plate with mushroom pan gravy.

Ingredients:

***For meatloaf:

2 lbs ground beef

1 lb ground Italian sausage

2 whole eggs

2 tbsp chopped herbs. Rosemary, thyme and sage (2 stem worth of each). Final amount is to be divided in half for the meatloaf and for the mushrooms.

2 tbsp heavy cream

1 c bread crumbs (homemade recipe)

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz crumbled blue cheese

Pinch sugar on top before baking

***For mushroom gravy:

8 oz cremini mushrooms

4 tbsp unsalted butter (2 tbsp is for the roux)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 glass sherry wine

1-1/2 c beef stock

2 tbsp ap flour

Kosher salt

Black pepper, freshly cracked

1 tbsp unsalted butter to finish to gravy with

Tools needed:

Mixing bowl

Sharp knife

Cutting board

Large saute pan

Large spoon

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

Oven and stove top range

How to make it:

Preheat oven 375

Crack open eggs with the cream into a large mixing bowl, give a pinch of salt.  Beat eggs into the cream. Add remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Form 2 loaves that are equal in weight.  Sprinkle top with granulated sugar.

Bake 375 for 35-45 minutes.  Internal temperature should be 145-155. This meatloaf holds moisture really well, so if you cook it longer by mistake it won’t be too dry.

Let’s saute some mushrooms and make a pan gravy!

In the last 15 minutes of the meatloaf baking I make the mushroom pan gravy. Heat large saute pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp oil and toss in the mushrooms. Saute mushrooms for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently. The mushrooms will loose some liquid, then that liquid will reduce and the mushrooms will then start to caramelize. This is when we add the thinly sliced shallots and 1 tbsp chopped herbs. Salt the shallots now and add the chopped herbs. That will help pull the natural sweetness out that the shallots have and the liquid that the shallots loose will get soaked up by the mushrooms. Saute shallots for 1-2 minutes until they turn translucent, stirring frequently. Add garlic, saute for 30 seconds to cook the rawness off. Add freshly cracked black pepper. 

Deglazing pan with beef stock.

Deglaze pan with the wine. Stirring and scrapping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce by half (simmer away the 1 glass of wine until there is half the amount of wine left).   Now, let’s make some roux. This is equal parts flour and unsalted butter (2 tbsp ea). By weight is more accurate. Add the butter and melt thoroughly, add the ap flour, mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes to get rawness off the flour.   Add beef stock to deglaze pan again. Bring up to a simmer and reduce heat medium low. Continue the simmer for 3-4 minutes to reduce and thicken the gravy slightly.   See photos below for my preferred thickness. Turn off heat, add 1 more tbsp butter and mix in.   Serve over meatloaf immediately.