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Dutch oven meatloaf is easy and rewarding.

Meatloaves are as varied as their chefs. This one is basic: one large yellow onion and a fat carrot, chopped, sauteed just to soft in a tablespoon of butter, prepared on stovetop or on a Dutch oven lid over coals. Let cool a little, then mix with three pounds of cold fresh hamburger, two cups of bread crumbs, a half cup of Parmesan cheese, two large eggs, a teaspoon of sea salt and another of black pepper (listed at end of post).

Start by sauteing chopped onion with chopped thin peels of carrot in a tablespoon of butter while shredding the cold hamburger. Gently mix salt and peppered bread crumbs along with Parmesan cheese into the shredded hamburger. Gently toss the shredded hamburger to evenly distribute the dry ingredients. Next, after cooling the saute, add the onion and carrot, and break the eggs over the hamburger. Lightly toss the wet ingredients just enough to mix, then mold the mixture into a loaf without a lot of kneading. I prefer meatloaf that falls apart under a fork.

Center the loaf in a 12-inch Dutch oven after placing a half slice of bacon on the bottom. Cook the loaf using twice as many briquettes on the lid as under the oven. I started with twenty on top and ten underneath for a cold day with a breeze. Due to the unshielded breeze burning-up the lid briquettes quickly, I added six fresh briquettes to the lid at about 45 minutes cooking time. I used Kingsford Competition briquettes for reliable performance.

The interior of the loaf reached about 160 degrees after one hour. After checking the temperature, I brushed on a ketchup glaze, then cooked the loaf for another ten to fifteen minutes under the hot lid.

Ketchup glaze can be as simple as generic ketchup, enough to thinly cover the top of the loaf, but I add one part Worcestershire sauce to six parts thick ketchup and a tablespoon of brown sugar for a thin glaze with a touch of caramelized sweetness to finish-off the meatloaf. The glaze must cook under a hot lid for ten minutes or more.

Meatloaf ingredients:

hamburger, 3 pounds
bread crumbs, 2 cups
Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup
butter, 1 tablespoon
carrot, 1/2 very large carrot
yellow onion, medium to large
sea salt, 1 teaspoon, fine
black pepper, 1 teaspoon coarse
eggs, 2 large
bacon, 1/2 slice thick pepper bacon

Glaze ingredients:
ketchup, thick, 6 tablespoons
Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon
brown sugar, 1 tablespoon