THE CHALLENGE
Improving the flavor of traditional meatloaf with minimal time and fuss.
THE CONVENTION
Adding a medley of ingredients to the meat binder or fashioning a glaze.
THE QUICKIE
Portioning the mix into mini meatloaves and browning them in a skillet.
No one (nor their grandma) can deny that meatloaf is a fairly no-brainer dish: meat plus binder plus quality time in the oven. However, we thought—what if everything was almost the same, just… smaller? The meat would cook much faster, and every member at the table could tuck into his own personal loaf. Size may not matter, but flavor does—we played things safe by amping up the little guys with extra seasoning and skillet searing.
HOW THIS QUICKIE WORKS
- Instead of one large loaf, the meat mixture is portioned into four mini-loaves for quicker cooking
- To create a delicious crust, the loaves are browned on the stove before going into the oven
- Italian sausage, fresh parsley, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese add flavor and Italian panache
HOW THIS QUICKIE COOKS UP
Searing these individually portioned loaves in a skillet on the stovetop and then transferring them to the oven to cook through creates a perfect crust and reduces cooking time. Instead of relying on meatloaf mix (ground beef, pork, and veal), we use lean ground beef mixed with Italian sausage, a trick that gives these meatloaves a distinctive flavor.
About the Author: America's Test Kitchen
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Made this tonight for dinner. Everyone loved it. Lots of flavor. It was very easy to make and very little to clean up.
I do have one question; can the meatloaf be done ahead and put in refrigerator until ready to cook?
Thanks for letting us know how it went. Happy to hear that the recipe went over marvelously at the dinner table! Per your question on preparing the meatloaves ahead: According to Cook’s Country senior editor Cali Rich, shaping the loaves and refrigerating the day ahead should work fine, but the baking time may have to be extended by a couple minutes.
Any recommendations on the marinara sauce?
You should be good with most marinara, but here are the Test Kitchen’s preferred jarred pasta sauces: http://cooksillustrated.com/tastetests/overview.asp?docid=17289
Or, if you prefer homemade, there is a marinara sauce recipe in Cook’s Illustrated: http://cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=7524
Let us know how it goes.
Excellent recipe, thanks so much. I found a neat tip for the crackers; Nabisco now makes them in a fresh pack which is a half pack and contains roughly 17 crackers.
Great, this is very easy to make. My family each asked as they came home What are you cooking! They could not wait to sit down for dinner. Thanks are new family favorite!