Glazed Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

Glaze for Meatloaf:

• 1 cup catsup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. hot sauce (use your favorite or leave it out)

Meat Mixture:

• 2 tsp. vegetable oil (I use Mazola corn oil or olive oil)
• 1 onion, chopped find
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 19 crackers)
• 1/3 cup milk (regular - not skimmed, 1 or 2%)
• 1 lb. 90% lean ground beef (both ground sirloin and ground chuck work well here, but avoid ground round. It is gristly and bland.)
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. ground thyme
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper

Directions:

To make the glaze, whisk all ingredients in saucepan until sugar dissolves. Reserve 1/4 cup glaze mixture, then simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.

Cook vegetables in skillet with a little olive oil until golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Transfer to large bowl.

Line rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and coat lightly with vegetable oil. Set aside.

Prepare the meat mixture, by crushing saltines and add milk. Stir until smooth. Add beef and pork and mix (with your immaculately clean hands) until well mixed. Transfer this mixture to large bowl with cooked onions. Add eggs and egg yolk, mustard, Worcestershire, thyme, parsley, a tsp. of salt and 3/4 tsp black pepper. Mix with your hands until everything is well combined.

Broil to create glazed top. Adjust 1 oven rack to upper rack of oven, about 4 inches away from broiler element). Place the second rack in the middle position. Heat broiler. Transfer meat mixture to prepared baking sheet and shape into a 9 x 5 inch loaf. Broil on upper rack until well browned (about 5 minutes). Brush 2 Tbsp. glaze over the top and sides of meatloaf, then return to oven and broil an additional approximate 2 minutes or until glaze begins to brown.

Bake meat loaf: Move meat loaf to middle rack now and brush with remaining glaze. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake until meat loaf registers 160 degrees F when tested with instant read thermometer (about 40-45 minutes).

Remove from oven and carefully transfer meat loaf to carving board, and tent with foil allowing it to rest for 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

If you want enough glaze to pass for adding to meat loaf when served, make a double amount, and keep half for passing. Be sure it's nice and hot.

Source: This is a recipe that came from my subscription to Cooks Country magazine a good while ago. It is very good and the perfect one to serve with another recipe I copied from the same magazine, Sour Cream and Green Onion Smashed Potatoes.

The two recipes go together like "Peas and Carrots" which incidentally makes a lovely side dish to be served with the Meat Loaf and Smashed Potatoes.

By Julia from Boca Raton, FL

Editor's Note: Here is Julia's recipe for Smashed Potatoes.

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