Beef Loaf
Chop 4 pounds of the round very fine; add 2 cupfuls of bread crumbs, 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, 1 large onion, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, and 4 eggs. Mix well together, then pack into a square bread-pan. When cool, turn it out into a greased baking-pan, and bake for two hours in a moderate oven, basting occasionally. Serve cold, cut in thin slices with cream horseradish sauce.
A cold-sliced beef loaf built on a whole 4 pounds of lean round — closer to a Victorian pressed meat than to a supper-sized meatloaf. The main adjustments are oven temperature, cooking time, and fat.
- The hinge: internal temperature, not the clockTwo hours at moderate heat will take a lean 4-pound loaf far past palatable. Cook to 160F on an instant-read thermometer in the centre, which in a loaf this size usually falls between 75 and 100 minutes depending on its thickness.
- "Moderate oven"350F. If the surface is colouring faster than the centre is cooking, drop to 325F and give it a little longer.
- Round is very leanBeef round ground fine has almost no fat to spare, which is why the original calls for basting. Either baste generously with butter or drippings throughout, or replace about a quarter of the round with chuck or ground pork. Otherwise the sliced loaf will be dry and crumbly.
- Bread crumbsTwo cupfuls of dry, fine crumbs is the likely reading, dry crumbs being common in period pantries, though the recipe does not specify. Dry crumbs absorb more liquid; if you use fresh, use closer to three cups.
- The onionOne large onion for 4 pounds of meat should be chopped very fine or grated, so it cooks through in the loaf. Coarse pieces stay crunchy and make cold slices break apart.
- Seasoning is light by modern tasteTwo teaspoons of salt for four pounds of meat plus crumbs and eggs is roughly half the rate common modern seasoning guidance suggests. Since this is eaten cold, when salt reads weaker, season toward 1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons per pound and fry a spoonful of the mixture to taste before packing.
- Pack, chill, then bakePressing the mixture into a bread pan and chilling it firm before turning it out is what gives the loaf a clean square shape and slices that hold together. Give it at least an hour in the refrigerator, well covered.
- Yield and servingFour pounds of meat makes a substantial loaf, roughly 12 to 14 portions as a cold cut. Chill it completely before slicing thin; the cream horseradish sauce is grated horseradish folded into lightly whipped or soured cream with a little salt and vinegar.