Grilled Italian Meatloaf
With Chunky Tomato & Sweet Onion Relish
Bubba Durand

For the meatloaf:
1 lb very *lean ground beef ("Diet Lean")
1 lb lean ground veal
1 lb Italian sausage (either hot or sweet)
2 C Italian bread, ripped into chunks
1 C milk
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed in a Garlic Press
1 large yellow or white onion
fresh parsley (flat leaf)
fresh oregano
fresh basil
1 egg
1 T salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
4 very thin slices prosciutto
2 slices Mozzarella cheese

For the relish:
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
1 C coarsely chopped sweet onions (Vidalia or something similar)
Salt and Pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
4 C peeled and coarsely chopped fresh tomatoes

Meatloaf:

1. Process the bread in a food processor or blender to make fine crumbs.
2. Pour the milk over the bread in a large mixing bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.
3. Peel the onion and grate it over a plate using the large holes of a standard grater. Grating the onion totally destroys the texture of the onion, leaving you with a puddle of onion juice and a pile of onion mush. Sounds bad, but it makes the onion melt into the meatloaf, flavoring it nicely without leaving any discernable chunks of onion. Of course, if you LIKE chunks of onion in your meatloaf, go ahead and chop it instead!
4. Add the onion to the bread along with the egg, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, oregano, and basil. Mix well.
5. Add the ground veal, ground beef, and Italian sausage. *I used a very lean ground beef to compensate for the sausage, which seemed extra fatty. If your sausage is relatively lean, you can use a higher fat ground beef if you like. Mix very well.
6. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving the wrap hanging out on all sides of the loaf pan.
7. Place 1/3 of the meat mixture into the loaf pan and smooth it out.
8. Top with 1 slice of mozzarella cheese and 2 slices of prosciutto. Leave a border of about 1" around the edges to give the layers a chance to seal together (otherwise, some of your cheese may leek out as in the above picture!)
9. Add 1/3 of the meat mixture.
10. Top with remaining slice of cheese and 2 slices of prosciutto (leave a border!)
11. Add remaining meat mixture. Smooth the top (which will later become the bottom) and cover with the protruding plastic wrap.
12. Chill in the 'fridge at least 8 hours.
13. Prepare an indirect fire on a charcoal grill, with a drip pan in the center.
14. Make a rectangle out of several layers of heavy-duty foil. The rectangle should be about 1 to 2 inches larger than the TOP of the meatloaf on all sides (the top of the meatloaf will become the bottom in the next step!). Spray the foil lightly with non-stick spray.
15. Peel back the plastic wrap from the top of the meatloaf and cover with the foil rectangle (sprayed side touching the meat). Flip the whole thing over, remove the pan, and peel off the plastic wrap.
16. Place the meatloaf (sitting on its little foil platter) in the center of the grill. Cover and grill 90 minutes, adding 5 or 6 coals to each side of the fire after 45 minutes.
17. Remove from the grill and let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing.
18. Serve with Chunky Tomato & Sweet Onion Relish.

1. Heat the oil in a shallow, wide skillet over medium heat. Use a good olive oil, its flavor is an important part of this sauce.
2. Add the onions and a little salt and pepper.
3. Sauté just until translucent but not brown.
4. Stir in the garlic and sauté 1 minute.
5. Add the fresh tomatoes.
6. Cook, stirring often, until all of the moisture evaporates and the sauce is very very thick (like a relish, even).
7. Add salt and pepper if needed.
8. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.