My step-dad, whom my children refer to as "Paw-Paw," makes one mean meatloaf. Even the non-meatloaf-liking peeps in our family love Paw-Paw's version. His recipe is rather simple, but fairly carb-heavy for what is essentially supposed to be a shaped lump of meat.
What's the problem with this delightful dish? Paw-Paw starts with a good bit of onion and bell pepper for the majority of his seasoning, and binds the whole shebang with an entire sleeve of crushed saltine crackers.
While it is absolutely delicious, for a ketonian, that's a hard no.
In order to simulate the same, rich flavor as well as maintain the kind of moisture he manages to get from his loaf, I swapped out half the meat with ground sausage, which is fattier and adds a nice spice to the dish. I scaled back a bit on the onion and peppers to keep the flavor while also keeping the carb count down, and then I replaced the saltines with crushed pork rinds. In addition to helping out the savory flavor, the natural gelatin in the pork rinds helps to bind while also holding in some extra moisture. With these simple changes, you really have to cook the snot out of this loaf for it to be dry.
Notes: For a really nice added zip to the flavor, consider using the Epic brand BBQ flavored pork rinds to make your crumbs. I've made it with both plain pork rinds and the Epic ones, and it's darned good both ways. My family gobbles this right up and leftovers never last very long.
[tasty-recipe id="2671"]