I made these totally awesome Meatloaves the other night. I wanted to try the recipe because it claimed that you could have meatloaf in 30 minutes and that greatly intrigued me. Most recipes I’ve seen take an hour or more to put together and bake. I haven’t eaten meatloaf in a great while because of that. This recipe lived up to it’s claim. It was ready in 30 minutes time.
My Recommendations
Freezability: A double-batch of these can be made to freeze for later. These reheat, after being frozen, extremely well. My only recommendation would be to make a half batch of the glaze to put on the meatloaves at the diner’s discretion after they have been reheated. I reheated them in the microwave and so they retained some of their moisture.
Cooking Notes: When browning the second side of the meatloaves, I would recommend not browning them too much. My loaves continued to brown as they are baking in the oven.
The Recipe
Recipe from The Best 30-minute Recipe from the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated
Serves 4
MEATLOAVES
17 saltine crackers, crushed fine (about 2/3 cup)
1/4 c. whole milk, plus extra as needed
1/3 c. minced fresh parsley
3 T Worchestershire sauce
1 large egg
1 1/2 T Dijon mustard
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
Salt and ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. meatloaf mix
2 t vegetable oil
GLAZE
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
4 t cider vinegar
1. Heat Oven: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees
2. Mix and Shape Meatloaves: Stir cracker crumbs, milk, parsley, Worcestershire, egg, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, 1 t salt, and 1/2 t pepper together in large bowl. Add meatloaf mix and combine until uniform. Press mixture into 4 oval loaves.
3. Brown Meatloaves: Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown meatloaves well on one side, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip loaves over and tidy up edges using a spatula.
4. Top with Glaze and Bake: Meanwhile, mix glaze ingredients together until smooth, then spoon over top of loaves. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until centers of loaves register 160 on instant-read thermometer, about 15 minutes. Serve.