This is my Grandmothers recipe for Lemon BBQ Meatloaf. It is a really special recipe to me, just because she made it all the time for me when I was living with her as a teenager. My Grandma Davis clipped it out of the local paper during World War II and has been making it since. She still has the original clipping that she reads the recipe off of, it is stained and yellowed, but it is precious to me.
This recipe was intended for you to make it as small individual meatloaves. If I was making this for adults I would make them about the size of a large baking potato. But I double the recipe and make them about the size of a regular orange for my kids. Sometimes my husband and bigger kids have 2 each!
When I make these meatballs I cover a cookie sheet that has sides with foil to make clean up easier. I also set a wired cooling rack over the cookie sheet and put the meatballs on it so that the grease drips onto that and they don’t sit in it. It also makes clean up really easy!
When you try these the first time, DO NOT omit anything from the sauce recipe. That is what makes them so good! My husband made these one time and left out the spices because he doesn’t like them. Then he complained that it didn’t taste as good! He was surprised to know that I always put the spices in that he thought he didn’t like! 🙂
Lemon Barbeque Meatloaf
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 egg, beaten
4 slices day-old bread, torn into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 dash ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 slices lemon
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish or a dish of similar size.
In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, lemon juice, water, egg, bread, onion and seasoning salt until well blended. Shape into 6 individual loaves – I like to make large balls. Place them in the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven while you prepare the topping. In a small bowl, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard powder, allspice and cloves. Spoon the sauce over the loaves, then top each one with a slice of lemon. Return to the oven, and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until cooked through.