Equipment
Ingredients
Aromatics
- 100 g bacon, finely diced
- 150 g yellow onion, finely diced
- 15 g garlic, minced
Panade and Seasoning
- 60 g panko breadcrumbs
- 80 ml whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 15 ml worcestershire sauce
- 10 g dijon mustard
- 8 g kosher salt
- 3 g black pepper, freshly ground
Meat
- 500 g ground beef
- 250 g ground pork
Glaze
- 120 ml ketchup
- 30 g brown sugar, packed
- 15 ml apple cider vinegar
- 2 g smoked paprika
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 501 kcal
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbohydrates
- 39 g
- Fat
- 27 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 13 g
- Sodium
- 1535 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 10 g
- Trans Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 6 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 36 mg
- Potassium
- 547 mg
- Calcium
- 196 mg
- Iron
- 3.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 36 mg
- Phosphorus
- 267 mg
- Zinc
- 2.3 mg
- Vitamin A
- 79 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 4 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin K
- 0 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.0 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.19 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.20 mg
- Niacin
- 3.0 mg
- Folate
- 34 mcg
- Water
- 54 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a skillet over medium heat, cook the diced bacon for 5 minutes until the fat renders and it begins to crisp. Add the finely diced onion and minced garlic, cooking for an additional 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs, whole milk, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir well and let sit for 5 minutes to fully hydrate the breadcrumbs, creating a panade.
Add the ground beef, ground pork, and the cooled bacon and onion mixture to the bowl with the panade. Gently mix by hand until just combined, ensuring you do not overwork the meat.
Transfer the meat mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Using your hands, shape it into a free-form rectangular loaf measuring approximately 20 centimeters long and 10 centimeters wide.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and smoked paprika until smooth to create the glaze.
Using a basting brush, evenly coat the top and sides of the shaped meatloaf with exactly half of the glaze. Place in the preheated oven and bake at 175°C/350°F for 40 minutes.
Remove the meatloaf from the oven briefly. Brush the remaining half of the glaze over the exterior. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the exact center reads 74°C/165°F.
Remove the fully cooked meatloaf from the oven. Allow it to rest undisturbed on the baking sheet for 10 to 15 minutes before using a chef knife to slice and serve.
Chef's Notes
- Baking the meatloaf free-form on a baking sheet rather than constrained inside a traditional loaf pan is a crucial technique. It allows the sides to caramelize beautifully while letting excess fat render and drain away, preventing the meat from essentially boiling in its own grease.
- A panade, which is the mixture of milk and breadcrumbs, acts as an essential moisture-retaining sponge. Skipping the 5-minute hydration step will cause dry breadcrumbs to actively pull natural juices out of the ground meat during the baking process.
- Using your bare hands is the most reliable method to combine the mixture without overworking the protein structure. Tools like stiff spatulas or stand mixers easily compress the delicate matrix, resulting in a dense, tough final product.
- The 10-minute resting period post-bake allows the muscle fibers to relax and the internal juices to redistribute evenly. Carving into the loaf straight from the oven will cause those boiling juices to immediately spill out onto your cutting board.
- Sautéing the aromatics and bacon beforehand ensures they are tender and fully flavorful. Adding raw onions to the mix often leaves an unpleasant crunchy texture because the internal temperature of the meatloaf never gets high enough to properly break them down.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store in an airtight container.
Freezer: 3 months — Wrap individual cooked slices tightly in plastic wrap, then place in a heavy-duty freezer bag.
Reheating: Slice and pan-fry in a dry skillet over medium heat until crispy on the edges, or microwave covered with a damp paper towel until heated through.
Troubleshooting
Meatloaf is dense, tough, or dry in texture
Cause: The meat mixture was overmixed, squeezing out moisture, or the panade ratio was insufficient.
Fix: Cannot be fixed once baked, but can be masked by serving with additional warm gravy or extra glaze.
Prevention: Mix the meats and binder together very gently using your hands just until visually incorporated.
Meatloaf falls apart or crumbles when sliced
Cause: The loaf was sliced immediately out of the oven without resting, or lacked sufficient binding from eggs.
Fix: Allow the loaf to cool down significantly to firm up, then slice carefully and reheat the slices individually.
Prevention: Ensure the proper ratio of eggs to breadcrumbs is used, and always rest the loaf for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Bottom of the meatloaf is greasy or soggy
Cause: Baking in a high-sided, tight loaf pan traps rendering fat so the meat boils rather than bakes.
Fix: Carefully drain the excess fat from the pan and place the meatloaf under the broiler for 2 minutes to dry out the exterior.
Prevention: Bake free-form on a flat rimmed baking sheet, allowing excess fats to drain away from the meat base naturally.
Cultural Context
Meatloaf evolved in the United States from European scrap-meat dishes, particularly drawing inspiration from German scrapple and traditional Italian meatballs. It gained immense culinary traction during the Great Depression and World War II as an economical strategy to stretch expensive animal proteins with hearty fillers like bread and grains, eventually cementing its status as a quintessential, nostalgic American comfort food.
