Filipino Turkey Embutido (Meatloaf)

Embutido, or Filipino meatloaf, is a holiday tradition but it’s so easy to prepare that there’s no reason not to have it more often. The sausage and egg stuffing are optional and this version is a little leaner with ground turkey but this recipe would work using traditional ground pork.

I don’t even know how to begin describing the crazy week this has been. What a relief to be on this side of the calendar, some items crossed off the list. The newly-discovered roof leak remains a top priority but help is coming and at least the rain has let up enough to provide some relief.

The evenings called for easy comfort food and having just gone through a large batch of Thai curry soup, meatloaf was the hug on a plate that carried me through this week.

Growing up, my mom made classic American meatloaf–it was simple fare that made an appearance at the table fairly regularly and I never tired of it. I especially enjoyed the leftovers the next day, lightly pan-fried, in a sandwich with a generous amount of ketchup.

Earlier this week, instead of preparing the American classic I was inspired to try my hand at the Filipino version instead–embutido.

What is Embutido?

Embutido is the word for a type of dry-cured Spanish or Portuguese sausage but the Filipinos have adopted the term for their version of meatloaf. More a log than a loaf, embutido is traditionally a Christmas dish made with ground pork, stuffed with sausage and hard-boiled eggs and flecked with carrot, bell pepper and raisins, giving it a fancy appearance at the holiday table when sliced. The rolled, stuffed meat is typically steamed though baking is an accepted preparation.

In my desire to create a leaner version of the classic, this embutido recipe I’m sharing is made with ground turkey and stuffed with chicken sausage but you can use ground pork if that is your preference. The sausage and egg stuffing are completely optional, too–minus this extra step embutido is just as easy to prepare as the American version and for me, as I mentioned, best when the leftovers are fried and served as a sandwich.

This recipe makes two loaves/rolls. I had intended to freeze one to share with my parents so they could try my turkey version but even my raisin-loathing husband enjoyed the loaves with me, making the meal prep for the week so much easier and the week just a touch less crazy.

(Keep scrolling for the recipe and for my embutido tips.)

Embutido Tips:

Seasoning

To make sure you’ve seasoned the meat mixture sufficiently, after combining all the ingredients for the meat mixture, take a small piece and cook it in a pan for a sample. Adjust the seasoning accordingly.

Rolling

I watched a few videos on rolling embutido and noticed that most people employed the same technique–roll out the ground meat mixture flat on a piece of aluminum foil, add the sausage and egg then roll like sushi or a cake roll. It looked more complicated than it needed to be.

The easier method is to shape the meat mixture into a rectangular block, create a tiny depression in the middle with your thumb, lay the sausage half on depressed section followed by the egg halves then fold up the outer ends of the block, pinching where they meet on top and the ends and rolling to smooth out the surface. This creates a tight, firm roll and requires no finessing.