Time: 1hour 45mins
Serves: 12
Ingredients
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 large onion, grated (brown, yellow)
1kg / 2lb ground beef (mince), not lean
2 eggs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley (optional), or 2tsp dried parsley or basil
1tsp dried thyme
2 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled or 2tsp beef powder
1tsp black pepper
MEATLOAF GLAZE:
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar, lightly packed
Top Tips:
Use Fatty Beef: The secret to making a meatloaf taste really good is to use fatty beef (use at least 15% fat beef), plenty of flavourings and to grate your onion instead of dicing it.
Flavourings: To provide a serious flavour boost by using beef bouillon cubes (granulated beef) instead of salt.
Glaze: Coat meatloaf with a glaze which adds an extra something-something to the meatloaf both in looks and flavour
Method
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Oil or spray a loaf tin.
Glaze
Mix together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Meatloaf
Place breadcrumbs in a very large bowl. Grate over onion. Mix so the breadcrumbs are all wet.
Add remaining ingredients. Mix well using your hands. Form into a loaf shape, pinching together then smoothing over creases and cracks (helps prevent cracks during baking).
Transfer into loaf tin. Brush generously with glaze, using about 1/2. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with most of the remaining glaze. If there is excess fat pooling, scoop/pour it off.
Bake for a further 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out and cutting into thick slices. You will probably get a bit of crumbling just on the edges of the first couple of slices, this is normal and indicative of the tenderness of the meatloaf (zero crumble indicates firm packed harder meatloaf which isn’t as enjoyable!).
Ideal served with a dollop of ketchup, creamy mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables
