BlS—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 15,1984
THE
MICRO A
m v y
LANI
BLOOMER ’
Try cooking meatloaf
in your microwave
“A Donut Shaped Meatloaf?
You’ve got to be kidding!” This is
probably what you’ll hear from
your family along with lots of
giggles when you first serve a
round meatloaf. But if you use your
family’s favorite recipe, they will
soon get used to its new shape.
Now, why would you ever make
a round meatloaf? Because it will
cook more evenly on high nower in
your microwave, that’s why. A
donut shaped meatloaf (using two
pounds of meat) will take about 15
minutes to cook on high. The same
meatloaf in a loaf shape would take
40-45 minutes to cook on medium
power.
When you us high power on your
microwave for cooking speed, the
basic microwave techniques are
very important. One of these
“basics” is cooking in a donut
shape, or arranging your food so
there’s a hole in the middle. A
meatloaf cooked in the traditional
loaf shape will not cook evenly in
the microwave on high power. The
ends will be overcooked (hard and
dry) before the center is cooked
through.
Since microwaves cook food
from the outside in, the center is
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(717)733-4973
Tues . Wed. 10-6:Thurs„ Fn. 10-8; Sat 10-4
the last place to cook. On high
power, using a donut shape is one
way to avoid overcooked edges and
an undercooked center. If you
don’t have a ring mold, use a two
quart casserole dish and put a
custard cup or glass in the center.
If you think a donut shaped
meatloaf is just too weird, use the
conventional loaf shape, but it will
take longer to cook. To cook a loaf
shaped meatloaf, use medium
power (50,5). Slowing the cooking
speed down gives the center of the
meatloaf time to cook before the
edges get overcooked.
If you need to cook a loaf shaped
meatloaf on high power, shield
each end with 1” wide strips of
aluminum foil to prevent them
from overcooking on high power.
Foil, even though it is metal, CAN
be used in most microwave ovens
for shielding. When you use foil for
shielding, keep it in the center of
the oven, 1” or more away from
the walls, and look through the
window to check for arcing
(sparks) when you turn the power
on. If you see any arcing, stop your
oven and reposition or remove the
foil.
Does your microwave have a
temperature probe or sensor? (It’s
TIMONIUM, Md. - Berks
County 4-H and FFA participants
were successful in the Junior
Dairyman of the Year Contest held
Aug. 30, at the Maryland State Fair
in Timonium.
One-half of the contestants
placing in the top ten hail from
that stick with a wire on it that
came with your oven.) A probe or
sensor doesn’t cook the food. It’s a
thermometer that measures the
temperature of your food, and
makes cooking a meatloaf a snap.
Put it in the center of the meat and
set it for 160°F. The oven turns off
or switches to “hold” when the
meat rparhes 160°.
Meat! oaf Cooking Chart
These times are for a recipe using 2 pounds of ground meat, and a
microwave with 600-700 watts of power
Shape Power Minutes
donut high 14-15 no
donut high (14-15)* 160°
loaf high 18-20 no
loaf high (18-20)* 160°
loaf medium 40-45 no
loaf medium (40-45)* 160° no
* These times are only approximate, because you do not set a tune into
the oven with a temperature probe. The probe turns the oven off, or
switches to hold when the food reaches the temperature set.
Note: These times are for microwaves with 600-700 watts of power. For
500-600 W add 10 seconds to each minute; for 400-500 W add 20 seconds to
each minute.
Meat) oaf
2 pounds ground meatloaf mix
(beef, pork, veal) or ground beef
% cup dry bread crumbs
legg
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon Worchestershire
sauce
1 small onion, chopped
V 4 teaspoon dry mustard
V 4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder or 1
clove, minced
Topping (optional);
V 3 cup ketchup
V 4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1. Combine meatloaf ingredients
in a large bowl and mix. Pack
lightly into a 6-8 cup microwave
ring mold. (Use a 2-quart casserole
with a glass in the cent« r if vou
GSI
THE KEY TO QUALITY IS GSI
Berks Co. Youth find success at Md. State Fair
MJM AUGERS 4 xii
4”,6”&8” 4”xl6’
w/intake guard - motor 8”xll’
mount spout, pulley &
belt
Berks County including three of
the four scholarship winners.
Scholarships were awarded to the
top four finishers for use toward
further education or investment in
dairy projects.
Placing second overall and
winning a $250 award was Carol
Meatloaf is easy to cook in a
microwave, and turns out well. But
there are many ways you could
cook it, depending on your time
and your oven’s capabilities.
Choose a method from the chart
that suits you best. Use your own
recipe, or try mine (it’s a cooking
school favorite!).
Probe Shield ends
no
no
yes
yes
no
don’t have a ring mold.) OR, pack
meatloaf into a loaf pan.
2. If topping is desired, combine
ingredients in a small bowl and
spread over meatloaf. Cover with
wax paper.
3. Choose one of the cooking
methods from the chart, and cook
as specified. If you are using a
probe, poke it right through the
wax paper into the center of the
meat.
4. If your oven cooks unevenly
(one side or spot cooks faster than
the rest) rotate the meatloaf a
quarter turn halfway through the
cooking time.
5. At the end of the cooking time,
cover the meatloaf with foil or a
casserole lid and let stand for 10
minutes before serving.
(Copyright 1984, Lanl Bloomer)
Dreisbach, daughter of Dr. and
Mrs. Robert Dreisbach Ham
burg. Third place finisher and
recipient of $l5O was Sandy Moser,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Laveme
Moser of Bally. Rounding out the
scholarship winners receiving $lOO
and placing fourth was Mark Price
of Yellow House, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Jere Price.
Others placing in the top twenty
from Berks County include:
Charles Seidel, Lenhartsville,
seventh; Mark Moser, Bally,
ninth; Todd Miller, Hamburg,
thirteenth; and Joanne Kunkel,
Kutztown, eighteenth.
In team competition the group
comprised of Mark Price, Charles
Seidel, and Todd Miller placed
second. Members of the team
placing third were Carol
Dreisbach, Sandy Moser, and Ann
Kopfer of Fleetwood. The team
from Queen Anne’s County FFA
won the contest and included Kevin
Leaverton, the first place and $5OO
scholarship winner.
Sponsors of this years contest
were Savage-Leigh Farm of
Germantown, Md., Coldsprings
Farm of New Windsor, Md. and the
Eastern National Livestock Show,
Inc. The competition quizzes
contestant knowledge of many
aspects of the dairy industry
ranging from dairy cattle and goat
judging and dairy product iden
tification to feedstuff identification
and evaluation. Written exams and
interviews round out the contest
dealing with animal health,
feeding, breeding, genetics, herd
management practices and the
dairy industry in general.
Coaches for the Berks County
participants were Christine
Williams of Leesport, Carl Brown
of Douglassville, George Merrill of
Bernville, and Jere Price of Yellow
House.
$108.95 6”xir $175.95
$132.95 6”xi6’ $216.95
$279.95 B”xi6’ $343.95
Extra Auger Extensions Available