Glazed Meat Loaf

I wanted to make an easy meat loaf, but one with a firmer texture than I'm used to. I didn't want the crumbly kind. I found an interesting sounding recipe in "Cook's Illustrated", January- February, 2006. However, it called for crushed saltines (which I didn't have in the house). And it called for Monterey Jack cheese which I also didn't have in the house. So I substituted some fresh breadcrumbs seasoned with sun-dried tomatoes and garlic which I keep in the freezer. And I skipped the cheese which was to have been grated and frozen before adding to the meat loaf. The only other change was to add more salt. I was interested to see what the gelatin would do to the over all result. I'm not sure but I thought the meat loaf with its glaze was excellent with just the texture I was looking for.GLAZED MEAT LOAF

This recipe was adapted from a more elaborate one in Cook’s Illustrated of January-February 2006.

1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
1 medium celery rib, chopped fine (about ½ cup)
1 garlic clove, minced fine
2 tsps. Fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp. dried
1 tsp. paprika
¼ cup tomato juice
½ cup chicken broth
2 large eggs
½ tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs, prepared as follows:
I make a larger quantity of these bread crumbs and keep them In freezer for future use:
Make coarse crumbs from 4 cups cubed French bread in food
Processor. Add ½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
And sliced. Add 4 large garlic cloves, peeled. Pulse several times
Until garlic and tomatoes are finely chopped and incorporated
Into crumbs.
2 tbsps. fresh parsley, minced
1 ½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 lbs. ground meat. (beef, veal, or pork) Any or all. I usually use equal parts beef and veal if I can’t find ground pork.

GLAZE

½ cup ketchup
2 tsps. Hot pepper sauce (or to taste)
½ tsp. ground coriander
¼ cup cider vinegar
3 tbsps. packed light brown sugar

1. Heat butter in 10 inch 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 until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside to cool. Add bread crumb mixture.
2. Whisk broth and eggs in large bowl until combined. Sprinkle gelatin over liquid and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, mustard, parsley, salt, pepper, and onion/bread crumb mixture.
3. Add ground meat, mix gently with hands until thoroughly combined.
4. Transfer meat to a 9” by 13” baking pan and shape into a loaf measuring 10 by 6 inch oval and about 2 inches high.
5. Bake in a 375 degree oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf reads 135 to 140 degrees, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and turn heat up to 500 degrees.
6. While meat loaf cooks, combine ingredients for glaze in a small saucepan; bring to simmer over mediium heat and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Spread half of glaze evenly over cooked meat loaf and return to oven and cook until glaze bubbles and begins to brown at edges, about 5 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and spread evenly with remaining glaze; return to oven and cook another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and place on serving platter. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
7. While meat loaf is resting, deglaze the roasting pan with some boiling water and heat gently, scraping up all the browned bits until a slightly thickened sauce is achieved. Serve separately from the meat loaf.
8. Serves 6 to 8