Country Style Meatloaf Recipe
This easy meatloaf recipe is the ultimate comfort food, made from few ingredients and guaranteed to bring smiles around your table.
Equipment
- loaf pan
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf:
- ¾ loaf of bread
- 1 seeded medium-diced red bell pepper
- 1 seeded medium-diced green bell pepper
- 1 peeled small-diced yellow onion
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 3 ½ pounds 90/10 ground beef
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- sea salt and pepper to taste
For the Glaze:
- ¾ cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Add the bread to a pan and completely cover it in water and keep it submerged.
- Add the squeezed out wet bread to a large bowl along with the peppers, onions, garlic, ground beef, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly until completely combined.
- Divide the mixture between to 9x5 prepared loaf pans and pack it in tight. You can line one of the pans with bacon as I did in the video for extra flavor if you prefer.
- In a small bowl mix together the ketchup, brown sugar, and soy sauce until combined and add it to the top of the meatloaf and spread around to coat the top.
- Bake in the oven at 375° for 50-60 minutes or until cooked throughout and reads 165° internally.
- Rest for 3-4 minutes, slice, and serve.
Notes
Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 1 hour ahead of time. Wrap in foil and keep warm in the oven at 200°.
How to Store: Cool and cover in plastic for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. It will freeze well and be covered for up to 3 months. Thaw for 1 day in the fridge before reheating.
How to Reheat: Place your desired amount of meatloaf in a pan or on a tray with 2 tablespoons of water, cover with foil, and cook at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until hot. You can also heat in the microwave.
This recipe makes enough for 2 loaves and will feed 6 people per loaf.
You can swap the brown sugar for regular sugar or honey in the meatloaf glaze.
Press the meatloaf into the loaf pans to compact it so that it does not fall apart when sliced after it is cooked.
Before removing the meatloaf from the oven, make sure it reads 165° internally using a thermometer. It's okay if there’s a little pink in there; it’s like eating a medium-well hamburger.
While most recipes call for breadcrumbs, I believe this leads to drying out the meatloaf. Breadcrumbs need to be reconstituted, and when mixed into the meatloaf, it will draw out the moisture from the eggs and ground beef, causing it to be dry.
The secret to keeping it moist is to mix in water-soaked bread that is squeezed out and added to the beef, vegetables, and seasonings. I also do this exact same process when making meatballs. My grandma used to call it “wet bread.”
The size of the loaf of bread doesn’t matter. It will not affect the recipe if it’s bigger or smaller than the one I used. Please do your best to eyeball it. I used about 10-11 inches of a 16-inch loaf if you need specific details.
I usually keep the bread submerged by a few plates.
Nutrition
Calories: 569kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 28gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 542mgPotassium: 573mgFiber: 2gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 503IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 4mg