Halloween Meat Hand

There’s nothing worse than finding a dead hand in your mashed potatoes.

Appetizing, huh? Last year Meagan Reardon of the Not Martha blog shared this hideous creation. I knew as soon as I saw it that I had to have my own hand this year. She used a plastic hand mold to create it but I figured I could mold a hand easily enough.

I doubled my new fantastic meatloaf recipe, but this time I added garlic to the onion mix and used Highland Brewing Company‘s Oatmeal Porter from Asheville, NC.

Good dark beer bubbling away with the onions and garlic

What’s your favorite thing about making meatloaf? Is it when you get to do this?

I first made a meatloaf base so the fingers could rest on top of it and not overcook. Then I added more meat and sculpted a hand on top of the base, starting with the wrist and working my way over to the fingers, trying to make something resembling a hand. Once I had a decent hand, I added cut onion pieces as the nails and an onion end as the bone protruding through the wrist. Next I brushed ketchup over the whole thing. I was cracking myself up throughout this whole process. I had to kick a curious Jim out of the kitchen a few times as I made this so I could surprise him with this special Sunday dinner.

I cut up slices of provolone cheese to fit the tops of the fingers and hand. Ready for the oven! I baked it at the regular temperature for my meatloaf recipe (375) but it only took about 60-65 minutes instead of 80. Once it came out I had to drain off all the fat and other gunky stuff. Our dog likes that on his food — no waste!

As the meatloaf was baking, I made mashed potatoes. When the meatloaf and the potatoes were done, I spooned some potatoes into a plastic bag and cut a hole in one of the corners — all my pastry bags are in a box somewhere in storage, but this method works well. I carefully piped potatoes to fill the bottom of the pan and around the fingers, then I smoothed them down with a spatula. I wanted to hide the meatloaf base that connects the fingers so they stood out a bit.

It looks pretty hideous. I especially like the ketchup oozing from in between two of the fingers and out of the thumb nail base. The Hand has been on my mind for a few weeks and I’m very pleased with how ugly it turned out. How often do you say that about dinner? Now, time to use up one of the other ingredients.