This is adapted from Alton Brown's Meatloaf: Reloaded recipe. First is that as written, it makes way too much glaze. So my recipe makes about half as much. Second, he uses garlic flavored croutons, which I never have in the house, so I use cheap old sandwich bread. Because of this, I add in more salt and some more spices. Lastly, I use plain old 85% lean ground beef which is much easier than the self-ground chuck and sirloin mix that he calls for.
FOR THE MEATLOAF
- 3 slices cheap sandwich bread, cut or torn in bite size pieces, toasted well, and cooled
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and broken into a few large pieces
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, seeded and torn into large pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 1 large egg
- 3 lbs ground beef (85% lean)
FOR THE GLAZE
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from the jar
- 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Put bread and spices in bowl of food processor. Process until you have a coarse crumb. Dump into a large bowl. Add onion, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic. Process until finely minced. Add vegetables to bowl with bread crumbs.
Beat egg in small bowl and add to bowl with vegetables and bread crumb and mix to incorporate. Add in the beef and combine everything with your hands until the vegetables and meat are evenly distributed.
Pack this mixture into a loaf pan to shape it. Turn the loaf out onto the prepared baking sheet. Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes.
While it's baking, make the glaze. Mix all glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.
After 15 minutes, brush meatloaf with the glaze and return to the oven until the meatloaf registers 155 degrees F. This will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
COOKING SCHEDULE
To be able to eat this at 7:00 pm:
4:30 Start prepping everything
5:05 Meatloaf goes in oven; prepare glaze
5:20 Take meatloaf out to glaze it
5:25 Meatloaf goes back in oven
6:40 Remove meatloaf from oven to rest
7:00 Enjoy!