RICHMOND, Va. -- Celebrate Beef Month and Egg Month with a delicious twist on a classic—Mary Rappaport’s Surprise Inside Meatloaf from the Virginia Egg Council. Inspired by European tradition, this meatloaf features a hard-boiled egg tucked inside, creating a beautiful presentation and adding extra nutrition.
Find this recipe and more in the Virginia Strong cookbooklet, featuring a dozen hearty egg-and-beef dishes.
Learn more at Virginia Egg Council.
4-5 large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
2 lbs. 80/20* ground beef
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup seasoned (like garlic-herb or Italian) and finely crushed breadcrumbs
½ cup chopped onion, sauteed, if desired
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ cup ketchup, divided
Serves 6
- Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large mixing bowl add all ingredients (other than hard boiled eggs) and ¼ cup ketchup. Knead by hand until evenly combined and smooth, but not overmixed.
- Place parchment or foil on baking sheet and on this, arrange half meat mixture into a log.
- Arrange hard-boiled eggs, end to end down the center, and top with remaining meat mixture, pressing edges together.
- Bake for 20 minutes; remove from oven; brush top of meatloaf with ¼ cup ketchup; return to oven for 10 minutes.
- Spread on the rest of the ketchup and return to oven again for at least another 15 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160°F.
- Remove from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes; remove from baking sheet; slice crosswise into six even slices and serve.
- Or chill, then slice into 6 thick slices for fabulous sandwiches on crusty ciabatta rolls.
*80/20 ground beef seems to be the holy grail for meatloaf. In fact, one quote said, “80/20 blend is like that little black dress of the meatloaf world – classic/reliable/and always in style!” Basically, if the meat blend is too lean, you may be looking at a dry rather than moist meatloaf. Additionally, using the ‘log’ method rather than a loaf pan for baking, eliminates the meat stewing in its melted fat.
