Meatloaf

Impress the family with this simple gourmet meatloaf recipe topped with sweet and tangy glaze. No dried-out brick here. This recipe yields fork-tender and juicy slices!

Don’t eat red meat? Then give my turkey meatloaf a try! It’s just as flavorful.

A few enhancements can create a gourmet dinner using ground beef. A classic meatloaf is easy to prepare because once mixed, the oven does the larger part of the cooking process while you mix the sauce. My recipe uses simple pantry ingredients to amp up the flavor and juiciness of each serving.

I add a panade to tackle the biggest challenge of dry and crumbly pieces. You’ve probably used it before when making meatballs, but it’s much more than just a binder. It locks in moisture and keeps each slice tender. The combination of savory beef and a thick sweet tomato-based glaze delivers flavorful results. Pile on top of creamy mashed potatoes, and you’ve got a satisfying meal and hopefully a few leftovers.

The key to tender and juicy meat

Adding a panade to the ground beef mixture will lock in more moisture while helping retain the meatloaf’s shape. It combines breadcrumbs and broth or milk to create a starchy paste.

When combined with the meat, it coats the beef proteins and sets them into a gel once cooked. The gel then creates spaces that prevent the beef proteins from binding together too tightly. You often see the meat shrink and become dried out without a panade.

Making a panade

I use flaky panko breadcrumbs, chicken broth, and eggs to make the panade. Let the breadcrumbs soak until most moisture gets absorbed, ensuring the starches hydrate. The eggs add extra fat for richness, preventing the meat from drying out. Something I’m sure we’ve all tasted before!

I prefer the size of larger Japanese-style breadcrumbs because they’re more coarse and porous. These granules have more oversized air pockets to absorb the liquid for a softer meat texture. You can use traditional smaller and finer breadcrumbs. However, they’ll yield a denser texture. When I have homemade bread crumbs on hand, I use them because they tend to be larger and more similar to panko.

Saute the vegetables

Chopped vegetables add a nice variety of flavor and texture to the meat mixture. However, don’t add them raw! Pre-cooking them guarantees more flavor, even before the meatloaf is cooked. Sauteing the onions, garlic, and celery lightly browns the surface, enhancing the sweetness and taste. It also draws out the moisture, preventing soggy slices later.

Meat selection

Use a high-fat ratio of ground beef because the lipids act as protective coatings to prevent the meat from drying out during prolonged bake time. My top choice is 85% lean ground beef, which is 15% fat. This type has just the right amount of beef and flavorful fat that renders and keeps the meat juicy.

You can use an 80% ratio. It will still be delicious, but the loaf will shrink slightly more. Don’t go above 90% lean. It will yield the most meat but have way more chew.

Seasonings to enhance the meat flavor

Use a mix of fresh foods and pantry ingredients to naturally enhance plain ground beef’s flavor. Tomato paste, Parmesan cheese, soy sauce, and the anchovies in Worcestershire sauce are rich in glutamates and nucleotides, molecules that are high in umami and savory notes.

These ingredients instantly increase the beefy flavor of the ground meat. Chopped parsley, salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika are herbs and seasonings that add an earthy taste to the recipe to keep the beef from tasting bland.

Don’t overmix!

Have you ever wondered why grilled burgers or meatloaf turn out tough? Often the problem is overmixing. When beef is ground down, then mixed in a large bowl, sticky soluble proteins are released. If overworked, this creates a tighter bond that squeezes out the juices when cooked, yielding a rubbery and tough bite. Mix just enough to combine, and no more!

Pan selection

I use a 9 by 5-inch metal loaf pan. This type of material cooks the bottom and sides faster because it needs less time to heat up. If using glass, you may need more bake time as it takes longer to heat, but it retains heat better, so if using, don’t let it sit in the pan too long, or it will dry out.

When adding meatloaf in a loaf pan, lightly press it down to fill in any gaps. Create a dome shape on the surface for a more attractive presentation.

How long to cook meatloaf

Bake at a moderate temperature of 350ºF (177ºC) for about 45 minutes cooking time. The long exposure to the heat gently cooks the meat, and then when the surface temperature reaches 300°F (149°C), it will turn golden brown due to the Maillard reaction. 

New flavors and aromas develop for a better-tasting meatloaf. I cook until the internal temperature reaches about 135 (57ºC) on a meat thermometer. This is considered medium doneness and will continue to cook when you add the glaze to get closer to well done without getting dried out.

Add a glaze for extra flavor

One of the highlights of digging into this meatloaf is grabbing a piece along with the tangy sauce. Most recipes use a mixture of ketchup and brown sugar for a barbecue-like flavor. However, I reverse-engineered a version to use many of the ingredients already in the meatloaf mixture, so you don’t have to buy extra stuff.

My recipe glaze is barbecue-style without the need to cook it down. It’s a combination of pure maple syrup, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce that balances nicely. To set the glaze on top of the meatloaf, brush it on the surface multiple times, then briefly roast at 500 degrees to thicken the sauce. This process gets repeated a total of three times. You can also make a pan gravy if you prefer a more savory taste.

Serve this with

• Homemade mashed potatoes
• Sauteed green beans
• Glazed carrots

Frequently asked questions