Italian Stuffed Meatloaf

 

Italian Stuffed Meatloaf loaded with Italian sausage, pancetta wrapped in beef steak is this holidays’ season favorite. Great Sunday lunch too !

 

Italian Stuffed Meatloaf is younger brother of Farsu Magru; the story started in 13th century, on Sicily, with simple piece of meat rolled around bread crumbs. That way, more people were fed with less meat.

As time passed by and our standards of living improved, the ingredients became richer also. The result is so many Italian meatloaves or individual, little meatloaves that almost every family has it’s own recipe.

Needless to say, everybody believes, her/ his is the best !

Meatloaf recipe I present to you is simple since it has no mozzarella or any vegetables rolled inside. We serve vegetables as side dish. Roasted bell peppers are the best !Here you can see the basic ingredients : nice beef steak, pancetta, Italian sausage and eggs.

When finishing italian stuffed meatloaf, I realized it is wide enough to use eggs of normal size so please have that in mind. Quail eggs are not included in this meatloaf.

Sometimes, especially when preparing cheese stuffed meatloaf, cheese runs out and your precious sauce is not that precious any more. I have written the details about this beauty at the end of recipe details.

Italian stuffed meatloaf is easily found in every supermarket, all over Italy and surrounding countries, although it’s origin is Sicily. Angevins of France introduced it. Farsu Magru name is based upon the French word „farce“ , which means “stuffing“. In old french it was related to improvisations applied by actors to medieval religious dramas.

So, to leave brief history behind, let me note that this stuffed meatloaf recipe feeds 6 people so I make it for holidays or any other occasion to share it with more than 2pots.

My son is not a huge fan of vegetable stuffing. To make things easy, I roll beef steak, pancetta and Italian sausage ( ground meat, already mixed with herbs and spices ). While you prepare this stuffed meatloaf, please be careful with salt and ground black pepper. Both pancetta and sausage meat are salty so it’s easy to overpower it and ruin beautiful dinner recipe.

Here you can see the most important steps of making our family’s favorite :

As you see on the photo on the top, I took the roll out of thick bottom pot and made the slice to be a star.

It is easy to see three layers of different kinds of meat.

The timing is perfect to answer some questions related to meatloaves in general :

1. What is meatloaf seasoning made of?

When preparing classical meatloaf, I use salt, freshly ground black pepper, paprika, chopped onion and garlic, chopped fresh parsley, oregano and chili powder to taste.

2. What are unique and delicious toppings for meatloaf:

Truffles paste is our favourite. Horseradish cream, pesto, reduced meatloaf sauce with some heavy cream and orange peel are beautiful. So is reduced sauce with dried plums and chopped walnuts.

3. What is the secret to moist classically prepared meatloaf?

Bread crumbs soaked in milk. Once you add the mixture to your meat, combine well. I do it using my hands. Once you get smooth texture form a loaf and bake.

4. What is the difference between meatloaf and hamburger ?

In our experience: the difference is no eggs and breadcrumbs in our hamburgers.