Oh Halloween, how I love you. It is not many times of the year you can make dishes like severed hand meatloaf and appear normal… and not like some cannibalistic whack job. I recently saw a picture of this floating around, and I was reminded of happy times when it was quite safe to trick-or-treat, and meatloaf was a staple in many households. My aunt used to make this years ago, back in the ’80s, so I thought I might add a little twist.
Above is the traditional severed hand meatloaf, and below, a pair of hands breaking the surface of the ground as some poor soul tries to claw his way out of a grave. I had my two-year-old help me make the meatloaf, and was inspired to “healthy” it up a little, so I make a broccoli cheddar mash for the ground, giving the feeling of grass. I used a piece of toast for the tombstone, and an onion center for the flowers left by a loved one. To give the hands a bit of curl, I formed them around a large carrot. All told, this was surprisingly easy to make and very quick!
Somewhat Healthy Severed Hand Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork
- 2/3 pound ground beef
- 1/4 onion chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire
- 4 tbsp catchup
- 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 1-2 eggs. You want it to bind, but not be too wet
- Italian spice
- Montreal steak spice
- 1/4 cup oatmeal
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. You may need to adjust a few things to get the right amount of moisture. Too much and it falls apart, too little and it won’t stick together!
- Form the meat on a baking sheet in the shape of a hand. If you are doing two hands… ensure you make a left and a right hand…
- Use slices of onion for the fingernails. Take the center of the onion and use it for the wrist bone.
- If you choose to do the hands coming out of a grave, form the meat around carrots.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.
- Add cheese and continue to bake for “skin”.
