Danish Meat Loaf

This meat loaf started life as a meatball recipe in the Times.

Ingredients

• 6 slices of dense square packaged pumpernickel (Wild's Westphalian is perfect) or 3 1/2-inch slices of bakery pumpernickel

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons coarse salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 3 medium yellow onions (1 cup) finely chopped (not minced)

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 3/4 pound ground beef

• 3/4 pound ground veal

• 3/4 pound Italian sausage, squeezed from casing. (Sausage can be sweet or hot. Guess what? I prefer hot.)

• Plain store-bought or fine homemade bread crumbs to sprinkle on top

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Soak bread in warm water for 3 or 4 minutes.Squeeze out water and tear bread into pieces.

3. Combine lightly beaten eggs, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper in small bowl. Using a big mixing bowl, mix bread and egg mixture together, then add onions, garlic, and the meats, and blend together with a wooden spoon or your hand.

4. Pat into an oval or square baking dish or a loaf pan, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until instant-read thermometer registers 155°F.

5. Remove from oven, pour off excess fat, and let it rest for 10 minutes.