From the menu of … Oga’s Restaurant, 5719 Peachtree-Industrial Blvd., Chamblee. 770-458-2747
Q: Many times over the past 18 years, I have enjoyed the meatloaf from Oga’s on Windy Hill Road, Smyrna. First, when I lived around the corner from the restaurant and now on occasion when I am on that side of town. The meatloaf is very good, and it has been consistent over the years. Attempts to duplicate it have not been successful. Is the ground meat a special texture? Is it cooked in a water bath? Thanks. Always enjoy your weekly column!
— Fred Smith, Tucker
A: Stanley Kim, owner of the Oga's on Peachtree-Industrial, created the recipe that's used at the Windy Hill Road location as well. He sat down with "From the menu of" to describe his recipe. All the food at Oga's is made from scratch daily. The restaurants are open only for breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday. On the menu will be a variety of fresh cooked meats and seafood with an array of vegetables from steamed cabbage to squash or broccoli casserole.
The meatloaf recipe is a classic, loaded with savory vegetables and topped with ketchup. The restaurant makes it up in 10-pound batches, and Kim scaled back the recipe for home cooks to a quarter of that size. The restaurant cooks frequently also stir in crumbled leftover biscuits, about 4 in a 10-pound batch. If you like, you can add a biscuit or 1/2 cup breadcrumbs to this recipe.
The meatloaf is served topped with a light tomato sauce. The restaurant makes it by combining about 6 cups of tomato sauce with 3 chopped large tomatoes, 1 chopped large onion and half a bunch of celery, also chopped. This simmers together with 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste until the vegetables are completely soft. Then it’s spooned warm over the meatloaf.
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of restaurant in the subject line.
Oga’s Meatloaf
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Serves: 10
2 1/2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup ketchup plus enough to cover loaf
1 egg
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 5-by-8-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mix ground beef with celery, onion and ketchup. Use a light hand to mix the ingredients, being sure not to compact the beef. Add the egg, sugar, pepper and salt and stir again to combine thoroughly. Pat mixture into prepared loaf pan. Cover top of loaf with ketchup. Bake 1 hour or until meatloaf is cooked through. Remove from oven, drain any juices and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Per serving: 332 calories (percent of calories from fat, 66), 21 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 24 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 106 milligrams cholesterol, 455 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.
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