Pumpkin Meatloaf

Obviously I did not read the recipe well enough when I stumbled upon it.  When I decided to make it tonight I took a double take when I realized I wasn't adding pumpkin purée, I was actually cooking in the pumpkin.  I decided to head back to the internet, and low-and-behold cooking a meatloaf in a pumpkin is all the rage in circles I don't travel in.

It should be called "Meatloaf in a Pumpkin".

{Fresh Out of the Oven}

1 (3-½ to 4 lb.) pumpkin

salt and black pepper, to taste

3 Tbsp. yellow mustard, I used Dijon

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 egg

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. salt, or to taste

1-½ lb. lean ground beef

½ cup fine dry bread crumbs

1. Cut top from pumpkin; discard top.  Remove and discard strings and seeds.

2. Place entire pumpkin, minus its top, in baking dish.  Add about 1 inch hot water to dish around the outside of the pumpkin.  Cover pumpkin and pan with foil.  Bake in a preheated 400° oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until pumpkin is tender, but not falling apart.  Pour off water.

3. Season inside of pumpkin with salt and pepper.  Spread with 1 Tbsp. of mustard and sprinkle with brown sugar.  (Since the pumpkin was still hot from baking this slide right to the bottom.  I decided to use it more as a glaze, swirling it around the interior of the pumpkin, then marinating the meatloaf with it.)

4. Combine remaining 2 Tbsp. mustard, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt, ground beef and bread crumbs.  Mix well.  Form into a ball and stuff mixture into pumpkin shell, packing down tightly.

5. Return pumpkin to oven and bake, uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until pumpkin is tender and meatloaf is cooked.

6. Cut into wedges and serve.

{Geoff, Suspect and Curious}

What I liked about this:

It was fun to try something different, and unconventional.  I liked the Dijon mustard/ brown sugar marinade.

What I thought:

I can't put my finger on it.  We didn't dislike it, but we couldn't quite pinpoint anything unique about it.  Maybe it was the Italian Bread Crumbs.  Or maybe the fact that I ran out of mustard and substituted with Dijon mustard.

What I would do different:

I'd add pumpkin purée to the meatloaf itself.

I think I would also add some puncture holes to the lower end of the pumpkin to allow the juices to escape through the bottom.

What you need to know if you make this:

45 minutes to 1 hour is not long enough to cook this through.  We ended up opening it up, then cooking it longer to cook it thoroughly.

I'm giving this recipe 2 out of 5 pumpkins. It isn't bad, but as I see it, it certainly wasn't worth the time I invested in carving out the pumpkin, then cooking the shell just to pop a meatloaf inside.