Meatloaf Burgers

This is about tradition. Every adult year of my life, my mom would make me her fabulous meatloaf in lieu of a birthday cake. I just couldn’t resist taking a play out of her book (love ya, Mom!). Moist, beautifully seasoned and that carmelized sauce……I feel like home.

Ingredients:

Burgers:

3 slices white bread, torn into pieces

1/3 c milk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

½ cup celery, chopped

2 lbs ground round

1 egg

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1 t poultry seasoning (yeah, but it tastes great)

Sauce:

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 Tablespoons prepared mustard

1/3 cup ketchup

1 Tablespoon sugar (this carmelizes the top in the oven!)

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Additional:

Buns

Sliced cheese

Dill pickle slices

Lettuce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Soak bread pieces in milk in a small bowl. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan. Add onion and celery and cook until translucent, cool. Drain excess milk from bread. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, veggies, bread, egg, and seasonings.  Form the mixture into 8 patties and sear quickly on both sides over medium high heat. You aren’t trying to cook them through here, you just want a nice crust on both sides. Transfer to a foil lined baking sheet and top with sauce ingredients by layering first the dry mustard, prepared mustard, ketchup, sugar and pepper. Use a knife to spread each layer across the patties. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve on buns (catching some of the juice from the baking sheet) with lettuce, cheese and pickle if you like.