Grilled meatloaf.

I always feel a little shameful when something I make derives most of its tastiness from ketchup, but, well, there you go.  What's not to like?  Sweet, tangy, tomatoey...

I am sure there is nothing particularly original about this, but I did make it up myself when I wanted to make hamburgers but didn't have any buns.  My. Family. Loved. It.  

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 6 Tbsp ketchup 
• 2 Tbsp hot sauce (Frank's RedHot, to be specific) 
• 1 egg 
• 1/4 cup minced onion 
• 1/4 cup minced green bell pepper 
• Fine fresh bread crumbs or similar  

Mix beef, ketchup, hot sauce, egg, onion, and bell pepper in large mixing bowl.  Add bread crumbs until, er, until the texture holds together "just right" -- the amount depends on the kind of crumb, but about a half cup seems to do, maybe a bit more.  Let the mixture rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or so to firm up, then form into hamburger patties.  Grill till done and a bit charred on the outside.

You could serve these on buns if you wanted to, but they are fine fork food too.  They are a little softer and crumblier than a good solid burger; if I were going to put them on bread, I think open-faced on buttered toast would do very nicely. 

 I served them with fruit salad and steamed broccoli, with ketchup and mustard on the side.

Comments

[Angela F]

These sound great! Sometimes we just put in fresh chopped onion for moistness - that's good, too. Tried to send you an email; came back that your mailbox was full?

[Kim (in IA)]

Thanks Erin,
Made these for dinner tonight. I shied away from the hot sauce and only used 1 T. They went over well with my guys!

[bearing]

I just purged my bearing blog mailbox... Sorry about that and thank you for letting me know there was a problem.

[MrsDarwin]

We tried these last night and enjoyed them -- even Miss "I hate onions and green things!" ate them up. I was out of bread crumbs, alas, so I substituted some oatmeal. The flavor was still quite good, but the patties fell apart. Better go out and restock the bread crumbs!

[bearing]

Wow, I don't think I've ever had three readers come back so quickly to tell me they made a recipe I've recommended. Something must have sounded good (or at least kid-friendly) about these.

I sometimes put oatmeal in meat loaf, especially if I need it to be gluten-free, but I have always found that oatmeal needs to be soaked for it to help hold the meat loaf together. You will recall that most baked meat loaf recipes call for some added liquid (often milk or cream)? I left added liquid out of this recipe because I didn't think it would hold together in patties if I added some. But normally when I make meatloaf with oatmeal, I soak the oatmeal in the added liquid for 15-30 min before going on with the recipe.

[Sara]

Ha, and I almost made it last night, too, but our power went out so we headed for a (air-conditioned) restaurant.