Meatloaf with Sweet and Spicy Glaze

Meatloaf with Sweet and Spicy Glaze

Sweet and Spicy Glaze

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon mustard
• 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl whisk all ingredients together until evenly combined and set aside.

Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1.5 Pounds ground beef
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 Carrot, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 Teaspoon allspice
• 1 Egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tablespoons parsley
• 1 Tablespoons basil
• Salt and Pepper to season
• About 8 butter flavored crackers, crushed to crumbs
• About 1/2-3/4 Cup bread crumb

Instructions:

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat until hot, then melt butter in the pan. 
2. Add the finely chopped onion and minced garlic, onion, and carrot and stir fry cook for about 7 minutes or until onions begin to get soft and carrot starts to cook. 
3. Transfer cooked vegetable mixture to a bowl. 
4. Add the ground beef to the bowl with veggie mix, season with a bit of salt and pepper and mix well with your hands and set aside.
5. In another small bowl whisk the egg with the Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, allspice, parsley, and basil. 
6. Add the egg and spice mixture to the beef and vegetable mixture and add the crushed crackers and about 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs. 
7. Mix well with your hands.  
8. The meat mixture shouldn't be sticky or overly wet, keep adding a small amount of bread crumbs and mixing well until everything looks to be evenly mixed, and when the mixture is shaped into a loaf it holds together in the right shape.
9. Transfer the shaped loaf to a greased pan that has at least a 1 inch side on it to catch any fat that will render out of the loaf.
10. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes at 350°F. 
11. After 20 minutes remove the loaf and coat the top of the loaf with the sweet and spicy glaze, reserving some glaze for serving time. 
12. Return the meatloaf to the oven and bake for about another 40 minutes, or until a meat thermometer says it is good to go.
13. Once cooked, allow the meatloaf to sit outside the oven for about 10 minutes before slicing. 
14. Serve with potatoes and a green veg with the leftover sweet and spicy glaze as a table condiment.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Because occasionally I start to feel nostalgic and want to feel like a 1950's house wife, but without using the same recipes. I have nothing against most traditional recipes, but my family always made meatloaf with onion soup mix. Which is not worthy of being called a source of food as far as I am concerned. But without onion soup to flavor it, it takes a bit more effort to get a yummy moist meatloaf.

After carefully testing out several different meatloaf recipes over the past year, and deciding they were all pretty bad,I have compiled my own recipe! Filled with the best elements of all the recipes I tried. Basically we need to start by creating layers of flavor in the meatloaf itself, and then to add a little zip so it doesn't just taste like a big meat ball, I made a nice and spicy glaze to be baked on top. I tested this on my skeptical fiance who does not like traditional fare as much as he should and he had two helpings. I consider this a sign of success.