Ham Loaf

I was looking for a recipe for ham loaf that was as close as possible to what I've enjoyed eating many times in the northwestern Pennsylvania region. In my experience, ham loaf is a staple of northwestern Pennsylvania "cuisine." You can buy pre-made frozen ham loaves from any grocery store there. Although my family roots are in western PA, no family recipe exists. The best ham loaf I've eaten has an incomparable sweetness and a subtle spice to it that I can't put my finger on. This recipe, while good, did not exactly replicate the ideal, but it'll do. I admit to tweaking it just a bit even on the first try. The recipe calls for a total of 3 1/2 pounds of meat, and anybody can tell that makes for a ridiculously huge loaf. There is no need to have one gigantic loaf that has to bake for 90 minutes. The ham loaf you buy in PA is always a rather petite loaf, so I just divided my batch in half and formed two smaller loaves. Since the loaves were smaller, they did not have to bake as long. I had to crank up the oven to 400 halfway through as well because a family member needed to eat and run. It worked fine. The loaves were done in about an hour and 10 minutes. Also, I added just 1/8 tsp. of allspice to the actual meat mix to try to replicate the flavor of PA ham loaf. It worked modestly well. The glaze called for by this recipe, while seeming a bit strange at first, was fantastic, turning out beautifully. I kept adding it with a basting brush until it was all on.

I was looking for a recipe for ham loaf that was as close as possible to what I've enjoyed eating many times in the northwestern Pennsylvania region. In my experience, ham loaf is a staple of northwestern Pennsylvania "cuisine." You can buy pre-made frozen ham loaves from any grocery store there. Although my family roots are in western PA, no family recipe exists. The best ham loaf I've eaten has an incomparable sweetness and a subtle spice to it that I can't put my finger on. This recipe, while good, did not exactly replicate the ideal, but it'll do. I admit to tweaking it just a bit even on the first try. The recipe calls for a total of 3 1/2 pounds of meat, and anybody can tell that makes for a ridiculously huge loaf. There is no need to have one gigantic loaf that has to bake for 90 minutes. The ham loaf you buy in PA is always a rather petite loaf, so I just divided my batch in half and formed two smaller loaves. Since the loaves were smaller, they did not have to bake as long. I had to crank up the oven to 400 halfway through as well because a family member needed to eat and run. It worked fine. The loaves were done in about an hour and 10 minutes. Also, I added just 1/8 tsp. of allspice to the actual meat mix to try to replicate the flavor of PA ham loaf. It worked modestly well. The glaze called for by this recipe, while seeming a bit strange at first, was fantastic, turning out beautifully. I kept adding it with a basting brush until it was all on.