Mini meat loaves with apples and Italian sausages
- Preparation 40 min
- Cooking 25 min
- Servings 4
- Freezing Absolutely
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🍎 A very small version
I wanted a meatloaf in miniature, with sausage and apples. Not to impress anyone: I just wanted it to be good, and different from what we usually eat.
🥩 Veal, not beef
Beef isn’t mellow enough for these little loaves. Lean veal is. Ground pork does the job too, if that’s what you have.
🧊 They freeze
Raw or cooked, your choice. And for lunch, we eat them hot.
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🥩 Veal or pork, not beef
I prefer lean veal: beef isn’t mellow enough for these loaves. If you have ground pork, use it in place of the veal.
🍎 Cool the apples first
Let them cool before mixing them with the rest. Hot, they would cook the egg and melt the cheese right in the bowl. Any other firm apple replaces the Paulared very well.
Is your zucchini very wet? You can squeeze it out a little before sautéing it.
🌿 Fennel, no more
Don’t add more than the recipe says. It tastes too much like fennel.
🙌 Hands, not a spoon
Mix with your hands until everything is well combined. You feel right away when it’s even.
🔥 Foil under the tin
Fat drips, and a lot of it. Put a sheet of aluminum foil or a baking sheet under each tin, or your smoke alarm will let you know.
To tell if they’re ready, look at the cheese: it should be nicely golden. And if you have a thermometer, the internal temperature should be 160°F.
❄️ Freezing, reheating and lunch
Freeze them raw or cooked, both work. To reheat, the oven works, and so do the microwave and the air fryer: gentle heat, not for too long. For lunch, we eat them hot. In the fridge, they keep 3 to 5 days.
✅ What to serve with my apple mini meatloaves
A salad, mashed potatoes, whatever you like. Craving a full-size meatloaf? There’s my classic beef and pork meatloaf, my moist bacon meatloaf, my turkey meatloaf with strawberry jam and bacon and my General Tso’s meatloaf.
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Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 3 Paulared apples (or another firm apple), peeled, cored, cut in big cubes (2 cups/500 ml)
- 1 medium zucchini, cut in cubes (1 cup/250 ml)
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Meat from 6 mild Italian sausages (600 g)
- 600 g lean ground veal (or ground pork)
- 2 cups (500 ml) grated sharp cheddar
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) Panko bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) fennel seeds
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Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
- In a large skillet over high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the apples, zucchini, shallots and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour onto a plate and let cool for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add the sautéed apple mixture along with the rest of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, then mix with your hands until it is well combined.
- Line two muffin tins with parchment baking cups, then divide the meat mixture among them. The recipe makes about 16 mini meatloaves.
- Set each tin in the oven on a large sheet of aluminum foil or on a baking sheet (otherwise the fat will drip everywhere and set off your smoke alarm) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is nicely golden on top. The internal temperature should reach 160 °F (70 °C).
- Serve with a salad, mashed potatoes or whatever you like!
Yes, absolutely. You can freeze them raw or cooked, both work.
In the oven, the microwave or the air fryer. Keep the heat gentle and don’t reheat them for too long.
Ground pork. Beef isn’t mellow enough for this recipe, so I don’t suggest it.
I use Paulared apples, but any other firm apple does the job.
Look at the cheese: it should be nicely golden on top. The internal temperature should also reach 160°F.
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