Glazed All-Beef Meat Loaf

A few weeks ago, Bob expressed an interest in having meat loaf.  That's when I realized that years had passed since I plunged my hands into a bowl of raw ground meat and formed it into a loaf.  Coincidentally, I just received a Cook's Illustrated cookbook with an interesting recipe for Glazed All-Beef Meat loaf.   The recipe uses only beef, not the standard meat loaf mix of beef, pork, and veal.  In true Cook's fashion, they found a way to produce a meat loaf with the same characteristics of one made with the traditional trio of meat.  The difference was noticeable, in that the texture was different from any beef meat loaf I've ever eaten. It was moist and slightly unctuous, each slice holding together beautifully and all due to an unusual ingredient which I will reveal later in this post. Oh, and it was very tasty too.

As Cook's explained, meat loaf is often made with three meats, each lending a particular quality to the finished dish. Beef and pork each have their own distinctive flavors and fat content. As for the veal, it contributes gelatin, which acts to retain moisture and gives a unctuous mouth feel.  Cook's solution to the absence of the veal is to add a small amount of unflavored gelatin to the meat loaf, which produced a very nice result, strange as it may seem.

I started by sauteeing onion, celery and garlic, with fresh thyme and paprika.

The onion mixture was added to eggs, dissolved gelatin, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, crushed saltines, salt, pepper and parsley.  Then the beef and grated Monterey Jack cheese was added.

The Jack cheese was frozen after it was grated, and then crumbled into smaller pieces before it was added. This provides another type of moisture in the meat loaf, but the small size of the cheese means that it's distributed into the meat better and doesn't produce pockets of oozey cheese in the finished meat loaf.

This was a very easy recipe, except for one thing.  The recipe said for me to form it into a loaf 10" by 6".  That was easy enough, but they also said it should be 2 inches tall. I wasn't able to accomplish that no matter how hard I tried.  The recipe also advises using aluminum foil, with holes poked in it, resting on top of a cooling rack. This was a great idea, because it kept the meatloaf nice and clean.

Finally, after the meat loaf was cooked, I glazed it with a nifty sauce of ketchup, cider vinegar, coriander, and tabasco.  I also noticed that almost no juices were in the pan, which meant the gelatin had absorbed them. 

I did notice that the texture of the meat loaf was much better than previous all beef recipes I had made in the past. It wasn't just moist, there was a luxurious feel to it in the mouth.  Each slice held together and was easy to cut, something that doesn't always happen with meat loaf.  All in all, it was an interesting recipe.

Glazed All-Beef Meat Loaf         (Cook's Illustrated)

3 ounces Monterey Jack cheese , grated on small holes of box grater (about 1 cup)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 medium onion  (about 1 cup)
1 medium rib celery mined (About 1/2 cup)
1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup tomato juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons minced parsley leaves
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 Lb. ground sirloin
1 Lb. ground beef chuck  (Or use 85% Ground beef.)
21 saltines, crushed
Glaze

1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar


1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread cheese on plate and place in freezer until ready to use. Prepare baking pan by folding a piece of aluminum foil into a 10"X6" rectangle. Place it on a cooling rack placed inside a baking  pan with sides.  Using a skewer, poke holes in the luminum foil every 1/2 inch.  Spray the foil with non-stick vegetable spray before putting the meat loaf on it.

2. 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 to scrape up browned bits from pan, until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside to cool.

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3. Whisk broth and eggs in large bowl until combined. Sprinkle gelatin over liquid and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, mustard, saltines, parsley, salt, pepper, and onion mixture. Crumble frozen cheese into coarse powder and sprinkle over mixture. Add ground beef; mix gently with hands until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Transfer meat to foil rectangle and shape into 10 by
6-inch oval about 2 inches high. Smooth top and edges of meat loaf with moistened spatula. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf reads 135 to 140 degrees, 55 to 65 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and turn on broiler.

4. While meat loaf cooks, combine ingredients for glaze in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring, until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Spread half of glaze evenly over cooked meat loaf with rubber spatula; place under broiler 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; place back under broiler and cook until glaze is again bubbling and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes more. Let meat loaf cool about 20 minutes before slicing.

Comments

[Tanna]

Gelatin, who would have thought!! I also like the glaze. Cook's Illustrated does it again. I'm going to see what of this I can utilize in my own recipe using turkey sausage. Really like this.

[gattina]

Sher,
I really enjoy reading your post! This time I learn something new!
Your meat loaf is the best one I've ever seen... I will try to convince my husband who had been tramatized enough by that dead loaf during his school years...

[Jeff]

That is one great glaze!

[Kalyn]

I have meat thawed out to make meat loaf too, so I guess we're channeling each other again. This looks like a good one. I'm quite a meat loaf fan.

[Sher]

Sher, I was waiting for the secret to be oatmeal- I saw a cooking show recently showcasing someone's world famous meatloaf which had it inside...But gelatin! that is so interesting. Well it is a by-product of the cow afterall.

[Shannon]

I just recently made a meatloaf in which I use BBQ sauce instead of tomato and cumin in the meat. Tasty! But I gotta try this. The mister loves him some meatloaf.

[kevin]

I saw that recipe, my favorite is an adaptation of one from Cooks Illustrated using the triumvarate of beef/veal/pork and wrapped in bacon.

[Rosa]

That looks super delicious and hyper comforting! Great!

I like your spatula ;-P!!!

[Rosie]

Sounds like an interresting take on meatloaf - however sometimes I think the Cook's Illustrated recipes are just a little to "fiddley" for my tastes. True they may be the best - but do I really want to take ten extra steps to get there? Anyone else feel that way?

[Jennifer]

It's funny because I have never made meatloaf with anything but ground beef. My mom's recipe calls for just ground beef, a slice of regular white bread, soaked in water and squeezed out, onions, and salt/pepper to taste. That's the way I have always made it and I have wondered how people get their meatloaves to stay so perfect and square...it's the gelatin!!! LOL!

Thank you for sharing this...that looks so good!

[Jeanne]

Hello, I saw this recipe on PBS this weekend and it looked so gooood! -I'm glad I found the ingredient-list and recipe here... Thank you! One question, though: I see per instruction, to stir in the saltines when preparing, but I don't see how many or in what condition (crumbled?) they should be measured in your list of ingredients. Thank you in advance for this additional information.

Best regards,
Jeanne
[email protected]

[yvonne korneck]

My husband & I made this great tasting meat loaf. As soon as you put it in your mouth, it was not like any other tasting meat loaf.
The only thing was there was a little too much Thyme. I used just dry Thyme and not fresh. So when we make it again, we will use the real stuff. It is a great tasting meat loaf!

Thank You!
Yvonne

[Tanya R.]

This was the most flavorful meatloaf I've ever tasted. The texture was like that of a very tender and smooth steak (I don't know how else to describe it). Hands down, my favorite meatloaf recipe yet. Thank you.

Tanya
WPB, FL

[chinesebeefrecipes]

wow!your Glazed All-Beef Meat Loaf
is making me mouthwatering,I hope it taste the way it looks I am a chinese food amateur and like cooking the dish myself,I'll try it,I hope I could cook this dish as yours,thanks for sharing again.

[delicious beef loaf]

YUMMY, nice, I can not wait.
I will make my own style Glazed All-Beef Meat Loaf.

[paleo recipes]

Meatloaf recipes with herbs, spices and crunchy nuts. Its important to use a rimmed pan so the batter doesnt spill off. Excellent health of our ancestors was due to the use of natural foods like the wild plants and animals in their food and these foods are now termed as the paleo recipes, paleo food, Stone Age or Paleolithic food.

[daniel karanja]

Simply mouth watering recipes,love the combination

[dan karanja]

wow,just simply delicious.I love your creativity.