Lots of cooks are very uncomfortable about putting their hands in or on the food they are preparing. I’m not one of them. I don’t stick my fingers into a boiling soup pot nor do I cook with dirty hands. But I like to get personal with the food I’m fixing.
I know John Steinbeck wasn’t a big foodie, but his opinion (in Travels With Charley) on the subject, is one I can agree with. In his cross-country road trip he believed the flavor of the food he tasted was bland. He felt that the restaurant business was relying too heavily on machines to prepare food. He noticed that small town diners where cooks still used their hands for food preparation had the tastiest food.
There are some foods I prepare that have a unique flavor, I believe, because I do make them with my hands. Any kind of bread is one of them. I have used a Kitchen Aid to do all the mixing and kneading 
but, seriously, it tastes different (better) when I do the kneading myself. Above is a picture of my oldest daughter, Candice, using her hands to making one of her special pizzas.
Meatloaf is another one of those ‘use-your-hands’ foods. Of course, it’s messy. I line up the pan and paper towels before I start. A few weeks ago, I told you about my first meal served to my in-laws which included meatloaf (read it here). I have improved that recipe over the intervening years. Many of you asked me for my recipe so, here it is.
- 1 pound of mixed ground meat (I use half the mix of ground beef and the other half is ground pork/turkey/sausage)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Put everything together in a large bowl. Stick your clean hands in and squish together until it’s completely mixed. Put into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees.
Alternatives: 1.) Mold and bake on a rack that is set inside a baking pan. 2.) Bake in a crockpot. Crumble aluminum foil for the bottom, set the meatloaf on top which will serve as a rack for the grease.
This recipe is easily doubled or tripled. I usually double it and make some meatballs at the same time. Two or three meals at the same time? I think I’m smart. Maybe just lazy.
I hope you’ll let me know if you try my meatloaf. Or, tell me about your own favorite meatloaf. Do you prepare food with your hands? For more talk about food, visit Beth Fish Reads for Weekend Cooking.
I always do my meatloaf with my hands…so much easier!!! I’ve never made my own bread but I think it would be fun!
I must admit that I am one who does not like to get her hands messy …. yet I think this is a phobia that I must learn to overcome
I am patiently waiting for a cookbook on artisian breads at the local library and hope to make homemade bread for the first time in 2010.
Great post! I do use my hands when I have to but have to admit that I’m not crazy about touching raw meat.
“I like to get personal with the food I’m fixing.”
I love that line! I also love Steinbeck, but haven’t read Travels with Charley… must remedy that. I use my hands while cooking now, too, although I didn’t much when I was younger.
I love cooking with my hands! And I really need to get my hands on Travels with Charley.
I’m so impressed with how perfect the pizza crust looks!
Yummy! I use my hands too — and I bake bread, make pizza (more rustic looking than Candice’s; perhaps her skill is compensation for spelling her name wrong
), and make meat loaf. My meat loaf is almost the same as yours. I add mushrooms to the mix and coat the entire loaf with ketchup and Dijon mustard before baking.
As some chef of TV once said (I know not who) the best tools God gave you are your hands. I laugh sometimes to see the lengths people will go to not touch the food. I don’t have an issue with touching raw meat…after all that is why God invented hot water and soap
…but you can always use those food prep gloves. I see huge boxes of them at Sam’s Club and that is still better than trying to use some tool sometimes.
I cook with my hands – and sometimes I eat with them!!
I’m glad you posted that picture of spinning the pizza crust. I hold mine from the top and grab it hand-over-hand to pull it out. I’m going to try going at it from underneath, like in your photo.
I’m all about using my hands! My favorite meatloaf is Dolly Parton’s family recipe. The meat mixture is pretty standard, but it’s topped a mixture of tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. YUM!
Okay no dirty hands for me when cooking (guess that is why I don’t love to cook)LOL
My meatloaf recipe is similar to yours except that I use all hamburg and some ketsoup too.
Hi Margot,
Yes, I’m a use-my-hands cook also. I even mix my potato salad with my hands. Seems to work better than a spoon. My meatloaf uses crackers instead of oatmeal. Have a great weekend!
Sherrie
Sherrie’s Stuff
My meatloaf recipe is similar to yours: except just ground beef, only one egg, a few dashes of worstershire sauce and moisten as needed with V-8 juice (I keep the little cans just for this purpose). Mix it up just exactly like you do! Top with catchup. I’m hungry now.
I totally agree wih you about the superiority of hands-on food.
I always mix with my hands. lol it seems to just be easier then all those different spoons or worse crunching up my chocolate chips.
My cheeseballs always are mixed by hand…it is just easier.