Meatloaf with a Tangy Glaze

I don’t know what it is about meatloaf. It seems there’s not a neutral person on earth when the word is brought up. You either get a big smiley “Mmm” or a scowl and a grunt.

We all love meatloaf at our house. It’s just one of those comfort foods that you hope will be waiting for you on blustery fall days when you’ve fought traffic all the way home and your tummy is growling. Everyone perks up at our house when you mention the word “meatloaf.” More often than not, I serve it alongside creamy, buttery mashed potatoes and peas (which everyone loves except my daughter-in-law. But she’s new. There’s still time. 😀 )

I saw an S.O.S. on Facebook earlier this week for a good meatloaf recipe. I didn’t have time to shop for, prepare, bake and take pictures of this meatloaf then and there, but I did manage to get it done today. And today, because I already had the perfect side dish waiting in the fridge (leftover from a few days ago), I served our meatloaf with scalloped potatoes. Everything goes down better with a little scalloped potatoes, don’t you think?

Here’s a fool-proof meatloaf recipe that is easy to fiddle with and make your own.

Meatloaf with a Tangy-Sweet Glaze

1 1/2 lb hamburger
1 1/2 lb ground pork
1 1/2 cups half n half OR 1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (regular or gluten-free) OR oatmeal OR crushed crackers
1 large onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup ketchup (regular or gluten-free)
3 TBSP Worchestershire sauce
2 tsp dried mustard OR 2 TBSP prepared
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
optional: 1 tsp turmeric (not necessary, but I’m trying to get more in our diet)

In a mixer or a large bowl, add the half n half to the breadcrumbs, oatmeal or crackers. Let sit 15 minutes while you start the onions. This is an easy recipe to make gluten-free. I just substituted two Udi’s gluten-free hamburger buns (grated while semi-frozen) for the regular breadcrumbs.

I wrote a post awhile back on how to dice an onion. Maybe you’ve got your own way, but maybe you’d love an easier, faster way to get that job done. If so, check out that post. Either way, you want to first dice your onions …
… and then saute them in a little olive oil for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add however many cloves of garlic you’d like and cook for another three minutes. Remove from heat so the garlic doesn’t keep cooking (it gets bitter if it’s in there too long). The recipe calls for 3-5 cloves. But given the choice, I’ll always err on the far side.

Add eggs to the milk mixture and blend well. Add Worchestershire, ketchup, mustard and seasonings. Add onion and garlic mixture. Add hamburger and pork and mix just until blended (don’t overmix).

So that my meatloaf isn’t sitting in all those drippings in the pan, I like to take one of my cooling racks (the one I use for cookies) …

… and wrap it in foil …

… then pierce it all over with a knife (so the drippings can drip through), and place on a baking sheet. But if you don’t have a cooling rack, you can put your meatloaf right on the cookie sheet (or in a baking pan) and just drain off the drippings when you take it out of the oven. I did it like that for years and years, and no one got hurt.

Form the meatloaf and place on the foil-covered rack or in the baking pan.

Take a fork and poke all over the top of the meatloaf so the glaze can seep in a little. Now mix up one of the glazes below.

Tangy-Sweet Glaze

about 1 1/2 cups ketchup (regular or Gluten-free)
about 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
about 1/2 cup honey or brown sugar (I use honey)

All those “abouts” are because this is a very subjective glaze. Some people like it sweeter, others like it tangier. Start with these amounts, taste (bearing in mind that it will be vinegary at first, but that will mellow out with the baking), and add a little more of anything you like.

Here’s a second glaze, just so you have an option:

Tangy Glaze

1 cup ketchup
1 cup balsamic vinegar

That’s it. Like the glaze recipe above, this will make enough to coat the meatloaf plus have some leftover to serve with dinner.

Mix up either of these glazes and coat (with a basting brush or the back of a spoon) over the meatloaf. Since I form mine on the cooling rack, I’m able to coat more of the meatloaf. But if you form it in a meatloaf pan, you’ll just be basting the top.

Bake @ 350 for about an hour (I sometimes leave it in another 10 minutes if it looks like it needs it).