I’ve never been meatloaf’s most devoted fan. To me, the mention of meatloaf conjures images of wooden slices languishing under heat lamps in grade-school cafeterias, or a 50’s housewife serving up a version drowned in gravy next to green bean casserole and carrot coins with margarine. Maybe I let my imagination run away with me, but I have had enough uninspired meatloaf to make me an unlikely candidate for attempting a version in my own kitchen. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? When made with care by your own hands with an emphasis on quality ingredients, many previously disappointing dishes can be redeemed.

Some meatloaf is too dry and dense, but this one has the opposite problem: it’s so tender that I had to thoroughly chill it before I could work a knife through it to make anything resembling clean slices.

The particular combination of meat I used was mostly ground chuck with a bit of Andouille sausage added for additional flavor, and the recipe is cobbled together from a combination of Alton Brown’s meatloaf ingredients (mainly the spices), a version of meatloaf from Everyday Paleo and the bacon-topped meatloaf from Health-Bent. I added tomato to the meatloaf itself rather than smearing it on top, and I’m glad I did because it gives the loaf’s interior a rosy tint.