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Home » Recipes » Main Courses » Meatloaf with Sweetly-Spiced Glaze Recipe

Meatloaf with Sweetly-Spiced Glaze Recipe

Published February 18, 2015. Last updated September 13, 2018 by Judy Purcell 12 Comments

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Meatloaf with Sweetly-Spiced Glaze elevates the humble meatloaf from a hide-the-stretchers catch-all to a worthy main event. We mingle beef, pork, and turkey for a balance of flavor and texture.

Oh, and there’s a brilliant sweetly-spiced, tangy sauce to glaze the humble loaf or spread on sandwiches.

Tackle the challenge of strong onion and over the top add-ins with this Meatloaf and Sweetly-Spiced Glaze recipe.

Tame those onions for better meatloaf.

This recipe also addresses onions in the best way possible—cook the onions before adding to the meat to mellow and soften their influence (children rejoice!). I dreaded meatloaf as a kid because the massive chunks of onion.

Dinnertime wasn’t the time for nonsense at our house, so I was usually in trouble by the time I was done picking through my crumbled meat to reject them.

For the best meatloaf, don’t go overboard with the add-ins.

Too many add-ins make the loaf crumbly and ruin the texture. My mom used meatloaf as a place to hide vegetables, compensate for the cost of meat with “stretchers”, or save a step by throwing everything together in one bowl.

It was just too much—oats, rice, carrots, bell pepper—I can still remember the awful visual of white specks of rice. Thankfully, this didn’t completely turn me off to an amazing, crave-worthy comfort food.

Is it the meatloaf or the leftover meatloaf sandwich?

The next day you’ll have to decide whether to smear this amazing glaze or mayonnaise (or both) on your meatloaf sandwich. Trust me, it will be a difficult decision if it’s been just mayo up to this point. Then you’ll be prepared to weigh in on the debate—the meatloaf, or the meatloaf sandwich?

It’s still not settled at our house.

The best meatloaf starts with caramelized onions and ends with great sweetly-spiced glaze.

Adapted from Cooks Country Glazed Meatloaf.

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Meatloaf with Sweetly-Spiced Glaze

Beef, pork, and turkey are mingled with just the right add-ins and glazed with a sweetly-spiced, tangy sauce.
Prep Time45 minutes mins
Cook Time45 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 Servings
Author: Judy Purcell
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Ingredients

Glaze:

  • 1 cup organic ketchup
  • 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
  • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish , grated not creamy

Meatloaf Mix:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 2/3 cup crushed organic saltine crackers abount 20 crackers
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 pound ground beef , 85% or 90% lean
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 pound ground turkey (dark meat) , or ground veal
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/3 cup finely-chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
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Instructions

  • Make glaze by whisking all glaze ingredients in a saucepan until sugar dissolves. Reserve 1/3 cup glaze mixture, then simmer remaining glaze over med-low heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.
  • Heat oil in a skillet over med heat; cook onion until soft and starting to brown at the edges. Add garlic and cook one more minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
  • In a large bowl, mix the beef, pork, and turkey by hand until combined. Process the saltines in a food processor into a fine texture, or place in a zip-type bag and crush with a rolling pin.
  • Add the crackers to the milk in a small mixing bowl. Add the eggs and yolk, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper, along with the cooked onions and garlic to the milk and cracker paste; mix well and then add to the meat until well incorporated.
  • Divide and shape mixture into two loaves, side by side, on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Trim parchment paper around outside edge of loaves to remove excess, leaving about an inch around loaves.
  • Shape meat mixture into two loaves, side by side, on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Trim parchment paper to remove excess, leaving about an inch around loaves. Broil on HI, 5-6 inches away from element, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Brush the reserved, uncooked glaze over top and sides of the loaves.
  • Move the oven rack to the middle position and bake loaves at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until the center of the loaves reach 160°F. Transfer to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest 10 minutes.
  • Serve with cooked glaze at the table.

Notes

Total Time includes resting time.
To make this gluten-free, use GF crackers or GF bread crumbs. If using bread crumbs, increase salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
For make-ahead meals: Make into smaller loaves (adjust baking time), cool and freeze loaves without sauce. Sauce can be prepared and frozen separately. Slice defrosted meatloaf and gently reheat individual portions in a skillet and top with warmed sauce.
Cooking the loaves on parchment isn't absolutely necessary, but it makes clean-up a breeze and I like that.

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 179mg | Sodium: 837mg | Potassium: 677mg | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 495IU | Vitamin C: 8.2mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 3.1mg
Learn how to make this and all recipes even easier!Check out our Monthly Meal Prep System!

Side Dish Recipes for Meatloaf:

Roasted Asparagus
Mashed Cauliflower
Maple Acorn Squash
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Garlic

Learn to make the best meatloaf ever by taming the onions and add-ins. This meatloaf with sweetly-spiced glaze is crave-worthy comfort food.

Shared on the following Blog Hops:
Hearth & Soul Hop


This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our Disclosure Policy.

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Filed Under: Beef, Main Courses, Pork & Lamb, Recipes, Sauces & Dressings Tagged With: Beef, comfort food, glaze, meatloaf, pork, Turkey

Comments

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    Rating




  1. Emily Kemp says

    August 27, 2018 at 11:33 am

    5 stars
    This looks so delicious, I’m definitely making this for my next family dinner!

    Reply
  2. swathi says

    March 12, 2015 at 4:25 pm

    Delicious meat loaf thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog, pinning,

    Reply
  3. Raymund says

    February 22, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    That glaze looks amazing on that meatloaf! I agree this is one heck of a comfort meal.

    Reply
  4. Karen (Back Road Journal) says

    February 21, 2015 at 11:42 am

    Meatloaf is a favorite comfort dish in our house. I’ll have to try your mix of meat, it sounds good…I usually just use beef or a mix of beef and pork.

    Reply
  5. Rustedrecipebox says

    February 20, 2015 at 6:44 pm

    Looks awesome! I love mixture of beef pork and turkey.

    Reply
  6. John@Kitchen Riffs says

    February 19, 2015 at 9:50 am

    My mother’s meatloaf was dreadful — overcooked, bland. So even though I like meatloaf — a lot! — for some reason I’ve never been tempted to make it myself. I’m missing out so I really need to get with it and develop a recipe — probably starting with this one! This looks excellent — thanks.

    Reply
  7. Mandy says

    February 19, 2015 at 7:26 am

    I really need to stop saying I must make my first meatloaf and get around to doing it, especially with this wonderful recipe.
    have a happy day Judy.
    🙂 Mandy xo

    Reply
  8. Bam's Kitchen says

    February 19, 2015 at 6:32 am

    5 stars
    Your meatloaf looks like a vision of comfort. I love meatloaf now but when I was little I used try to eat at my friends house when meatloaf was on the menu and that is exactly the same reason as yours my mom used to put rice in hers too, totally gross. I think your meat mixture and the milk really make it tender…I love your sauce!

    Reply
  9. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says

    February 18, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    5 stars
    I LOVE meatloaf, my husband not so much. One of these days I’ll find one he will share with me and maybe this is it. It sure looks good!

    Reply
  10. Lizzy (Good Things) says

    February 18, 2015 at 2:59 pm

    5 stars
    I love a good meatloaf, Judy and yours sounds like a fabulous combination of flavours! Yum.

    Reply
  11. Marky Gilbert says

    February 18, 2015 at 1:22 pm

    This looks awesome! I lost my late Momma’s recipe & I was heartsick that I no longer had it! Thank you for posting!

    Reply
  12. Carol at Wild Goose Tea says

    February 18, 2015 at 9:40 am

    I do love love meatloaf. Looks to me like a great version from the ingredient list.

    Reply
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