What Meatloaf and Beer Have Taught me about Audiophiles


Recently in life and online I've had some curious observations about human behavior I thought I'd share.   To begin with, I have recently discovered that a surprising number of My Fellow Americans do not like meatloaf.   As a meatloaf maker and meatloaf cognoscenti I was absolutely astonished at this.  Some people who otherwise like burgers and the like hate meatloaf.  

If you make meatloaf and love it your immediate reaction to this is "but you haven't tried _my_ meatloaf."  That's our natural knee jerk reaction because we just can't imagine.  Related to this I have a bartender.  We'll call him Calhoun because his name is Calhoun.  An otherwise respectable fellow who knows beer and tequila better than most.   I would go in to see what the latest rotation of Indian Pale Ales were.  About once a month they'd get some new "dessert beer."  That is a brew made to taste like a sweet food substance.  The least offensive of which were peanut butter and the worst strawberry shortcake beer.  Calhoun would proceed to push me to sample these unholy abominations every time he could. 

Of course I'd tell him "I don't like flavored beers." Which was partially a lie as a coffee or espresso flavored beer would probably be divine.. but we digress.

Sometimes he was so adamant that the latest beer flavor was the one that would change my mind I'd go ahead and try them.  Of course, they were invariably disgusting. 

My point to all this is that being on both sides of this argument.  It's really hard to accept that our fellow audiophiles don't like something we feel is sublime and we will push our fancies onto them in the hopes of enriching their lives for the better.   It's hard for us to respect that someone else can love music and the stereos that play it and yet not have found their happy place the same way we have.

By the way, I use the Betty Crocker meatloaf recipe and add a tablespoon of chipotle powder.  Amazing. 

erik_squires

@erik_squires 

I inherited a Betty Crooker picture cook book with plenty of good recipes in it.

I go for the Italian style as outlined in that book...which is essentially meatloaf with a small can of tomato paste in the mixture.  

I'm ashamed to admit that I just recently starting pre-cooking the onions and garlic prior to incorporating them into the mix.  Plus I like an extra egg in there and light on the breadcrumbs please. 

BTW, I add Chipotle powder to almost anything, love that smoky taste.

For some reason my SO beats the crap outa the mixture which causes it to be tougher that it should be.  Go figure. 

Regards,

barts

barts:  Beating is what you do to incorporate air into a mixture.  Great for actual cakes and ice cream.  Does nothing for meat loaf.  :D  If your SO is a dedicated baker that is probably why. 

Hands with nyplex gloves are the correct way to mix meatloaf.

Perhaps chipotle in adobo? (not in the beer!)

Fruited, dessert, and sours are all avoided by my palate.

@gdoke  Excellent idea honestly, the problem is the portions.  The powder makes it easy to control without waste.

@barts ,

You prefer chipotle powder over a good smoked paprika?

I imagine chipotle adds a bit more 'kick'...