There has been versions of meatloaf recipes dating back to the fourth or fifth century in a Roman cookbooks. However, it has been a staple in many American households since the great depression. Meatloaf has become one of this country’s favorite comfort foods especially for Sunday dinners.
No my history is a little different. Meatloaf in my house was rare. I just don’t think it was one of my mom’s favorite dishes. As a result, I just sort of forgot about it to tell you the truth. When I became an adult, I was dating this fella who invited me over for dinner at his mother’s home. She served meatloaf. Long story short, I spent the entire dinner trying to choke down this dry slice of meat with ketchup slathered on top of it. It was awful. I was polite and finished the meal, but boy – I was just really confused as to why it tasted so bad. I swore off meatloaf for good.
Fast forward about eight year when I was dating my now awesome hubby. We were sitting around trying to figure out what to have for dinner and he said “Babe, I just realized that you’ve never made me meatloaf.” So, I called my mom, got a few pointers, checked out a couple of recipe books, and went to work on creating my first meatloaf. To my surprise it turned out pretty good. Over the years I have revised my recipe many times and eventually came up with the juiciest and most flavorful meatloaf that I have ever had.
I hope you guys give it a try and let me know what you think. You can find the video tutorial of it here!
Cheers!
Magnificent Southern Meatloaf
This recipe is soooo freaking good! My family loves it and we make meatloaf sandwiches the next day!
Tips and Tricks:
If you don’t let the meatloaf rest, it will very likely crumble when you start to slice it.
I mix my seasonings together before I add them to my dish. That way I’m sure to get an even distribution of flavors.
Be sure to use a lean ground beef. Anything over an 85/15 mix will result in a greasy meatloaf.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs ground beef (no more than 15% fat content)
- Olive oil
- 1 medium diced onion
- 1 small diced bell pepper
- 1 diced celery stalk
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning salt
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley or 4-5 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup Ritz crackers
- 1 tablespoon worcsheshire sauce
- 1 slightly beaten egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
Glaze:
- 1/4 cup Sriracha ketchup (if you can’t find sriracha ketchup, use 1/4 cup chili sauce)
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 cup chipotle barbecue sauce
Directions
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Dice onion, bell pepper, and celery stalk. Next, heat the olive in a pan and saute the vegetables until tender (about 3-4 minutes over medium heat).
- Add garlic and continue to cook for an addition one minute. Set the veggies aside to cool a bit.
- Place the Ritz Crackers in a plastic bag and crush them into small pieces.
- Mix all of your seasoning and parsley together in a bowl.
- Place your ground beef in a large bowl.
- Add your egg, seasoning, cracker mixture, worcheshire sauce, parmesan cheese, and cooled veggies to the bowl with the ground beef.
- Add the milk to the bowl.
- Use your clean hands to mix all of the ingredients together in the bowl.
- Place the meat in a loaf pan or place the meat on a sheet pan and mold the meat into a loaf.
- In a separate bowl, mix the mustard, ketchup, and barbecue sauce together.
- Pour ½ of the glaze mixture over the meatloaf and spread it over the top covering the entire surface.
- Bake the meatloaf in the oven, uncovered, at 350 F for 30.
- After 30 minutes, take the loaf out of the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400 F.
- While the oven is warming to 400 F, spread the remaining ½ of the glaze on top. Place the meatloaf back in the oven and continue to cook for another 25 to 30 minutes until done.
- When baking is complete, carefully drain any excess fat from the baking dish then let your meatloaf rest for 10 to 15 minutes before you cut into it. This will allow the yummy juices to settle.
- Slice to your desired thickness and ENJOY
Delightful & Delicious 