This is Not Your Mother's Meatloaf!

This is not your mother's meatloaf that features Lipton Onion Soup....oh, how I hated it!  There is nothing like the overwhelming taste and crunch of onions to really make me cringe.  I have never told mom how much I dislike her meatloaf.  I have graciously accepted a copy of her recipe every time that I mention I am making meatloaf.

I believe that the reason I rarely make meatloaf is because of the one I grew up having to eat.  My dad's philosophy was that if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for the kids.  Enough said...

Recently I came across two recipes for meatloaf that sounded really good.  One was from Cathy at Wives with Knives.  Her recipes are always delicious and I started out to make hers as written when I found another meatloaf recipe filed away on the computer.  It was from Tasting Table by Chef Marc Taft of Marietta, GA. It looked very similar and equally as good.  So, I set out to create my own recipe from  the two.

Not Your Mother's Meatloaf!

Meatloaf
2 Tbsp extra virgin  olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic,  crushed
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp chili powder
Salt and freshly ground black  pepper
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
2 eggs
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup milk

Glaze
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/8 tsp hot sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
4 slices of bacon

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a medium skillet set over medium heat, heat the oil and cook the onion and garlic until soft, 5to 7 minutes.  Stir in the ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp chili powder, and 1/2 tsp  dry mustard.  Season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, cooked onion and ketchup mixture, eggs, and thyme.  Add the panko and milk and mix well.

Lightly grease a loaf pan or baking sheet with 1 Tbsp melted butter.

Make the glaze.  In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the ketchup chili powder, Worcestershire Sauce, hot sauce, brown sugar and any butter remaining after lightly greasing the pan.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Form the meat mixture into a log and place it on the baking sheet or in the loaf  pan.  Lightly coat the top with some glaze.  Lay the bacon slices across the loaf lengthwise with the pieces touching each other.

Place in the oven and bake until the meat is firm, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending upon the oven.  I tested it with the meat thermometer. The last 15 minutes of baking spread half of the glaze over the top of the bacon and increase the oven temperature to 375° F.   Remove from the oven and set aside to cool just a little before slicing.  Serve with the remaining glaze.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

I think that the best part of a meatloaf dinner are the meatloaf sandwiches the next day!  Yum

I am sharing today at Foodie Friday hosted  by Michael at Designs by Gollum.