the best meatloaf

lets start the week with my favorite meatloaf recipe. its from cooks illustrated and i can't find a recipe that can beat it. i have also adapted this same recipe to use a combination of ground turkey and italian turkey or chicken sausage (casings removed) and i encourage you to try both versions!

Bacon-Wrapped Meat Loaf with Brown Sugar - Ketchup Glaze

9/1996

If you like, you can omit the bacon topping from the loaf. In this case, brush on half the glaze before baking and the other half during the last fifteen minutes of baking. If available at your supermarket in the meat case or by special order, you can use 2 pounds meatloaf mix in place of the ground beef, pork, and veal.

Serves 6 to 8

Brown Sugar - Ketchup Glaze
1/2	cup ketchup or chili sauce
4	tablespoons brown sugar
4	teaspoons cider vinegar or white vinegar
Meat Loaf
2	teaspoons vegetable oil
1	medium onion , chopped medium
2	medium cloves garlic , minced
2	large eggs
1/2	teaspoon dried thyme
1	teaspoon table salt
1/2	teaspoon ground black pepper
2	teaspoons Dijon mustard
2	teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4	teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2	cup whole milk or plain yogurt
1	pound ground beef chuck
1/2	pound ground pork
1/2	pound ground veal
2/3	cup Saltine crackers , crushed (about 16), or quick oatmeal, or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/3	cup minced fresh parsley leaves
6 - 8	ounces bacon , thin sliced (8 to 12 slices, depending on loaf shape)

1. For the glaze: Mix all ingredients in small saucepan; set aside.

2. For the meat loaf: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.

3. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple tablespoons at a time until mix no longer sticks.)

4. Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9-by-5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf, (see illustration 1, below).

5. Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool at least 20 minutes. Simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until thickened slightly. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.