It’s safe to say that my pressure cooker may be the star of Manic Monday. I talked last week about my dear love the pressure cooker. This week I want to tell you about my crazy meatloaf idea. You may have seen my many ways to do meatloaf. I can do a whole loaf…I can do mini meatloaf, I can hide veggies or eat it plain.
With this loaf I want you to feel free to make it how you like it. I’ve just discovered that my family (especially my husband), best responds to a very plain meatloaf. My husband has said for years…Babe…It’s a meat….loaf…or a loaf of meat! So here’s what to do when you’re hungry caveman and cave babies are hunting for a meatloaf and need it fast!
Here’s what you’ll need for the fastest meatloaf ever:
⦁ 3 Pounds of Ground Meat (beef, pork, or a combination)
⦁ 2 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder or fresh
⦁ 1 Teaspoon of Salt
⦁ 2 Teaspoons of Bay Leaf (Other herbs like parsley and basil are great.)
⦁ Stock/Bone Broth/Water
Feel free to add anything else to that ingredient list. We just happen to like to keep it simple.
Three pounds is a lot of meat. You may not be able to fit all of it in your food processor. With this being an AIP friendly recipe, we are not using bread crumbs or eggs for binders. I found it very difficult to bake a meatloaf that I formed without it being crumbly. How did I fix this? Add your meat and seasonings in batches to your food processor. You want to process it until it’s well blended and is a consistent texture similar to sausage.
Add this seasoned sausage like mixture to a bowl or plate and form into a loaf. Add the wire rack into the bottom of your pressure cooker and fill the water (stock or broth) up to touching the bottom of the steaming rack. Place your meatloaf on top of the rack.
Set your pressure cooker to high pressure for 30 minutes. It will take a little longer than 30 minutes to cook because it takes about 15 minutes for it to get to pressure. But, that is still a lot less than the normal baking for an hour to an hour and a half. The result is a juicy and flavorful loaf that is well blended and slices beautifully.
If you’re family likes ketchup (not AIP) then pull it out and slap it on top. If you prefer to have it warmed up on top or have a tomato sauce alternative, slice the loaf and lay it out on a cookie sheet. Throw it in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.
I feel obligated on every pressure cook post…prepare yourself…
**READ THE OWNER MANUAL AND LEARN HOW TO SAFELY AND PROPERLY RELEASE THE PRESSURE FROM THE MACHINE!!!*** It doesn’t take but a few minutes to get to know how to use your unit. I usually quick release, but it will be fine if you naturally let the pressure release.
I hope you enjoy this quick, quick recipe. I thought I was a little bit crazy for wanting to put a 3 pound meatloaf in a pressure cooker, but I’m so glad I did. So go ahead! Give this crazy, hippie skirt wearing, pressure cooker diva’s meatloaf and let me know in the comments, on twitter, or Facebook how it turns out!
-Ami M. Lee, The Common Sense Cook
The Common Sense Cook 