Favourite Stuffed Meat Loaf

Stuffed Italian meatloaf takes the diner-counter classic and gives it the full Sunday-supper treatment. Ground beef gets seasoned with parmesan, garlic, and parsley, formed into a football shape, and split down the middle to hide a row of mozzarella sticks. When you slice into it, the cheese pulls in long molten strings.

The technique sets this apart from baked American meatloaf: brown the loaf in olive oil to develop a crust, then drop it into simmering tomato sauce to braise. The braise keeps the meat impossibly juicy and the sauce absorbs the meaty drippings, turning into something closer to a Sunday gravy than a topping.

Serve sliced over pasta or rice with extra sauce ladled on top.

Chef Tips

• Pack the meatloaf firmly. Loose mixtures fall apart in the brown stage and lose the cheese during braising.
• Brown all sides hard before transferring to the sauce. The Maillard crust prevents the loaf from disintegrating during the simmer.
• Use low-moisture mozzarella, not fresh. Fresh mozzarella releases too much water and can split the loaf open.
• Simmer gently, never boil. Aggressive bubbling breaks the loaf apart; a slow simmer keeps it intact.

Variations

• Substitute provolone or smoked scamorza for the mozzarella for sharper, smokier cheese pulls.
• Add ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the meat mixture for a deeper Italian flavor.
• Swap half the ground beef for ground pork or Italian sausage for a richer, more traditional meatloaf.