Beetloaf, a Story about a Meatloaf

Valentine's Day is coming, and I'm sharing pink food. Beets are my go to pink food coloring for that vibrant color that is surprisingly found IN nature.

This story, as all good stories do, starts with a package of beef liver. You may think that's a weird way to start a post entitled Beetloaf. Let me be clear--just because I'm calling this Beetloaf in no way implies a lack of meat. There are many excellent vegetarian loaf recipes out there and this is not one of them. This just happens to be a meatloaf that also contains beets and, as it happens on my FB page, when I post something innocuous sounding like Roasted Beet & Arugula Pizza, my friends nickname it Beet-za. Today I'm skipping the middleman and going straight to the nickname:  Beetloaf.

Now, before Robert Barker arrived in our lives I didn't know what to do with all the beef liver in the freezer. [My neighbors kept bringing me more, slipping it in the house alongside the eggs when I wasn't looking.] I looked for ways to incorporate liver into our lives, much like I look for ways to incorporate beets into our meals. I hit upon an idea--what if I used beets + liver together? I know I like pickled beets in my Open-faced Liver Postej Sandwiches, so it stands to reason that I'd like them together in the same pan. I decided to add a pound of pork sausage and a pound of ground beef to the liver + beets primarily because I'd already done a mostly vegetable meatloaf, my {48.3% Meat}Loaf, and I knew the additional meat would be a hit with the teenagers. It was--my daughter dumped ketchup on it and declared it 'acceptable' (when in doubt, ketchup is my #5 tip to get your family to eat from the farm share). My son went so far as to say it was 'good'--high praise from him--and complain after I started using all the liver for Robert Barker--that he wanted to eat more beetloaf.

BOOM! Liver + beets are in our bellies and out of the freezer. That's a big win in my book.

For other recipes using liver you're going to have to wait until I create additional categories for my Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, but there is a search function on the left sidebar in the meantime. For other recipes using beets, please see my Beet Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. For other recipes using ground beef, please see my recipe round up of 106 Food Blogger Recipes using Ground Beef.


Note: You can roast the beets early and refrigerate for a couple of days, or freeze them for several months.

MISSING: bread. The onions and spices and beets and liver are already in the bowl.

Beetloaf

1 bunch beets, about 1 pound, tops saved for the most amazing brunch ever (recipe here)
about 1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 package beef liver (about ¾ to 1 pound)
1 onion, peeled and quartered (save peels for a Soup Pack)
1 Tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 slice bread, crumbled (I used Multigrain Sourdough)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub beets--don't peel them--and place on a large sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and fold the foil into a packet. Place packet on a cookie sheet and roast for about an hour until the package 'gives' when you squeeze it. [I am loving my birthday/Christmas present oven mitts (Amazon affiliate link), BTW--my spouse did good]. Set aside the beets and when they are cool to handle, slip off the skins.
Turn down the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a food processor--the key to making a smooth loaf without obvious bits of liver, use a blender if you don't have a food processor--process pieces of the liver into a paste. Add the onions and cooled beets and process into a uniform mixture, scraping down the sides as needed. Transfer the liver/beet mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the spices. Crumble ground beef, sausage, and bread over the liver mixture. Using your hands, a wooden spoon, or a scraper to combine thoroughly. Pack into a loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a thermometer reads 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve with ketchup, sautéed swiss chard, or Irish Mashed potato casserole if you think the Beetloaf will really be a stretch for your family.

This color is so vibrantly PINK!