Quick Pork Loaf

Recipe No. 293 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Meat. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Tapioca, granular — 1½ pounds (1½ No. 56 dippers)
• Pork, cooked, free from fat, ground — 23 pounds
• Salt — 1½ ounces (3 mess kit spoons)
• Pepper, cayenne (optional) — as needed

Pepper, black — ⅛ ounce (½ mess kit spoon)

• Onions, finely chopped — 8 ounces (½ No. 56 dipper)
• Parsley, finely chopped (optional) — as needed

Tomato juice — 1 No. 10 can

• Worcestershire sauce — 3 ounces (6 mess kit spoons)
• Water, hot — 2 quarts (2 No. 56 dippers)
• Bacon fat — 10 ounces (¼ No. 56 dipper)

Directions

Key ingredients

Bacon Grease · Black Pepper · Worcestershire Sauce

1. Combine tapioca, ground pork, salt, cayenne and black pepper, onions, parsley, tomato juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix thoroughly.
2. Shape into loaves approximately 4 inches wide by 3 inches high by width of 50-ration baking pans. Place in baking pans.
3. Bake, uncovered and without water, at constant temperature in slow oven (325° F.) 1 hour, basting frequently with mixture of water and bacon fat.
4. Serve hot or cold.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Tapioca, granular — 2 oz Pork, cooked, free from fat, ground — 1 lb 13½ oz Salt — about ¾ tsp Pepper, cayenne (optional) — to taste Pepper, black — a pinch Onions, finely chopped — ⅔ oz Parsley, finely chopped (optional) — to taste Tomato juice — 1 cup Worcestershire sauce — about 1½ tsp Water, hot — 10¼ tbsp Bacon fat — ¾ oz

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 293, Meat. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints. NOTE: a quantity on the scanned page was unclear — check the PDF in the Reference Library.