I've often made meatloaf by cheating a little (using a box of stuffing) but never really from scratch. Mostly because of laziness...much easier just to dump everything in a bowl, mush it up, put it in a loaf pan and be done with it. 5 minutes prep time total at best. So when I started out making this recipe I was slightly curious how it would turn out.
In a word, yummy. I thought it was one of the juicier, subtly flavored meatloaves I've had in awhile. A little extra ketchup goes a long way with this one.
I made only a few minor changes to the recipe (unusual for me). I went with ground turkey over beef as it was cheaper at the store and as I'd forgotten to buy fresh thyme, I used dried thyme instead. As my cookie sheets were all in use, I made the loaves in little mini square cake pans and it turned out perfect. Thumbs up all around.
Ina Garten's Individual Meat Loaves
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil
- 3 cups chopped yellow onions (3 onions)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup canned chicken stock or broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (81 percent lean)
- 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
- 2 extra-large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup ketchup
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown. Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork. Don't mash or the meatloaf will be dense. Divide the mixture into 6 (10 to 11-ounce) portions and shape each portion into a small loaf on a sheet pan. Spread about a tablespoon of ketchup on the top of each portion. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees F and the meat loaves are cooked through. Serve hot.
