Nothing says comfort food on a cold winter day like meatloaf. But for some people, it has a reputation for being dried out. Not this one, because Cathy, a Hawaiian neighbor of Grammie Lambie’s, shared her secret recipe for a moist and delicious, easy-to-make meatloaf with sweet ketchup glaze that will leave you wanting more. It turns out her “secret recipe” wasn’t all that secret. It was developed and published by America’s Test Kitchen. 

The special trick is bacon, three types of meat, and brushing it with an essential brown sugar-ketchup glaze. You will notice it is cooked on a sheet pan, not a loaf pan. The reason for this is that the shaped loaf will have a more caramelized crust, and then it will be served with a mountain of mashed potatoes and carrots.  

This recipe makes so much that leftovers are guaranteed. My sister Sherry’s favorite way to use the leftovers is to make a meatloaf sandwich. A slice of cold meatloaf, yellow mustard, mayonnaise, and a good slathering of the incredible Brown sugar ketchup sauce. Whenever I talk to her long distance and tell her I’m making meatloaf, she delights in just thinking about the idea of meatloaf sandwiches. 

Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen – Serves 8

Ingredients for brown sugar-ketchup glaze

• ½ C Ketchup or chili sauce
  ¼ C Brown sugar
  4 t Cider or white vinegar

Ingredients for meatloaf

• 2 t Vegetable oil
• 1 Medium onion, chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Large eggs
• ½ C Whole milk or plain yogurt
• 2 t Dijon mustard
• 2 t Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t Salt
• ½  t Black pepper½ t Dried thyme leaves
• ¼ t Hot red pepper sauce
• 2 lb Meat loaf mix (70% ground chuck, 30% ground pork)
• 2/3 C Crushed saltine crackers (about 16), or oatmeal or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1/3 C Minced fresh parsley leaves
• 6-8 oz Thin-sliced bacon (8 to 12 slices, depending on loaf shape)

Directions

• Mix all ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan; bring to medium heat and then set aside.
• Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about five minutes. 
• Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. 
• Add egg mixture to meat in a large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with a fork until evenly blended and the meat mixture does not stick to the bowl. (If the mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until the mix no longer sticks.)
• Turn the meat mixture onto the work surface. With wet hands, pat the mixture into  approximately a 9 x 5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. 
• Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over the loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only the bacon tip ends under the loaf.  Bake the loaf until the bacon is crisp and the internal temperature of the loaf registers 160 degrees, about one hour. 
• Cool for at least 20 minutes. Simmer the remaining glaze over medium heat until thickened slightly. Slice the meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.