Meatloaf Recipe

     I subscribe to Cook's Illustrated magazine. It's not cheap, but it is remarkable in that there are no advertisements at all on any of it's pages.  It is 100% information about the best ways to  prepare food and the best ingredients and equipment.  The format of their articles are fairly predictable.  They lament about the twenty different ways they attempted to make a certain food and how they all failed before telling the reader what finally worked.  So it was with their recipe for Glazed Meatloaf that I mentioned in a previous post.  They went through 400 lbs of ground meat before coming upon a method that pleased the staff.  Here is their recipe:

Glazed Meatloaf

3 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, grated 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin

1 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 cup onion, finely chopped 1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1/2 cup celery rib chopped 2 eggs

1 tsp minced garlic 2/3 cup crushed Saltines

2 tsp thyme 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp paprika 3/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup tomato juice 1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup LS chicken broth 2 lb meatloaf mix

     Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 F.  Spread cheese on plate and place in freezer until ready for use.  Prepare cooling rack with perforated aluminum foil and put on foiled lined baking sheet.

     Heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until foaming; add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.  Add garlic, thyme and paprika and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Reduce heat to low and add tomato juice.  Cook, stirring to scrape up browned bits from pan, until thickened, about 1 minute.  Transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside to cool.

     Whisk broth and eggs in a large bowl until combined. Sprinkle gelatin over liquid and let stand 5 minutes.  Stir in soy sauce, mustard, saltines, parsley, salt, and pepper, and onion mixture. Remove cheese from freezer and crumble and add to bowl.  Add ground meat, mix gently with hands until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Transfer meat to perforated foil and shape into an oval about 2" high.  Smooth top and edges with moistened spatula.  Bake until an instant read thermometer reads 135-140 F, 45-50 minutes.  Remove meatloaf from oven and turn on broiler.

     While meatloaf cooks combine ingredients for glaze in a small sauce pan (see below).  Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring, until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Spread evenly over meatloaf; place under broiler and cook until glaze bubbles.  Remove meat from oven and repeat spreading remainder of glaze; place back in the broiler until glaze is once again bubbling and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes more.  Permit meatloaf to cool slightly before slicing.

Glaze

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tsp hot pepper sauce

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp packed light brown sugar

N.B.  I cut this entire recipe by half to make a nice sized meatloaf for the two of us, with enough for leftovers!!!