How to make the best tender and juicy Meatloaf with a delicious shiny glaze! Cheap, easy and quick to prepare, let the oven do all the work for you!
Look no further for the best Meatloaf recipe because it’s right here! Juicy and flavourful on the inside, with a caramelised shiny glaze on the outside makes this classic Meatloaf a winning centrepiece on any dining table. The whole family goes crazy over each slice! PLUS… take advantage of leftovers and turn them into the best meatloaf sandwiches!
Meatloaf Recipe
Meat lovers…rejoice! Finally, a meatloaf recipe that is guaranteed to come out perfectly juicy, NOT dry, hard, chewy or tasteless. All dreams come true when slicing into this loaf. What better way to serve a thick slice of Meatloaf than on a pile of creamy mashed potato OR mashed cauliflower for a lower calorie idea!
Mix any remaining sauce with leftover pan juices, then pour that sacred juicy sauce ALL over your meatloaf!
How To Make The Best Meatloaf Recipe
There are a couple of things we do differently from a usual Meatloaf recipe, which is what makes this meatloaf stand out from the rest:
- Instead of using breadcrumbs, we use bread slices soaked in milk which is what guarantees a juicy, tender loaf. You see us use the technique here in our mozzarella meatball recipe.
- We sauté onion and garlic together WHILE the bread is soaking to enhance their flavours before mixing them into the meat. Doing this guarantees soft onion pieces with every bite, while infusing the perfect amount of garlic flavour into the meat while baking. You COULD also grate your onion and garlic cloves to save time from sautéing, but we find cooking them yields the best result.
- Everything gets mixed together in the same bowl as the soaked bread to minimise clean up.
Easy Meatloaf Mixture
We add three different ingredients to our meatloaf to add amazing taste:
- Tomato paste
- Dijon mustard
- Parmesan cheese
You can leave them out if you have doubts, but I suggest following this recipe as closely as possible.
How To Shape Meatloaf
There are a couple of options here. You can either:
- Dump your meat mixture onto a baking sheet or oven tray and mould it into a loaf shape yourself, which can take some time to try and achieve even thickness and roundness for even cooking.
- Bake it in a loaf pan: If you go this option, beware you may have soggy edges instead of crisp edges as the loaf cooks in its own juices.
- Our preferred method: Mould it in a loaf pan, then turn the loaf out onto a broiler pan (oven grill pan). This way guarantees even cooking and crisp edges. Use a drip pan underneath and save all drippings.
Tips and Tricks:
If choosing option 3, be sure not to press the loaf too hard into the base of the pan, or you may have a hard time getting it out intact! Mould it just enough to get its shape, then turn it out. So much easier than shaping it yourself!
Tomato Sauce/Glaze
This glaze has the perfect tasty balance. Not too sweet, not too tart with an additional hint of garlic. Half is spread over the loaf before baking, and then half of the remaining sauce is added on during baking, saving the rest for serving with over your pile of mash!
Love beef? Try these recipes!
Chili Mac (Ground Beef Recipe)
Beef Bourguignon (Julia Child Recipe)
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