Beef Meatloaf with Tangy Ketchup Glaze

Ingredients

• 700 g beef mince, about 15–20% fat
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 100 ml milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup, for the meat mixture
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp prepared mustard
• 1 tsp dried thyme or mixed herbs
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley or coriander, chopped
• 5 tbsp tomato ketchup, for the glaze
• 1 tbsp brown sugar or grated jaggery
• 1 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Lightly grease a 23 x 13 cm loaf tin, or line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for about 6 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, then tip onto a plate to cool for 10 minutes.
3. Stir the breadcrumbs and milk together in a large bowl and leave for 5 minutes until the crumbs have absorbed the milk and look like a thick paste.
4. Add the cooled onion and garlic, eggs, 3 tbsp ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, thyme, salt, pepper and parsley to the breadcrumbs. Mix well.
5. Add the beef mince. Mix gently with your hands for about 30 seconds, just until everything is evenly combined. Overmixing makes the loaf dense.
6. Press the mixture into the tin, or shape it into a loaf about 22 cm long on the tray. Smooth the top.
7. In a small bowl, stir together 5 tbsp ketchup, the sugar and the vinegar. Spread half of the glaze over the loaf.
8. Bake for 35 minutes. Take the loaf out, drain off any fat that has collected in the tin, and spread on the remaining glaze.
9. Bake for another 20 minutes, until the glaze is dark and sticky and the centre reads 71°C on a thermometer. With no thermometer, cut into the middle: the juices should run clear and the meat should be brown throughout with no pink.
10. Rest the meatloaf in the tin for 10 minutes so the juices settle, then lift it out and cut into thick slices with a serrated knife.

Tips

• Use mince with some fat in it. Very lean beef makes a dry loaf, so if yours is lean, add an extra egg yolk or 2 tbsp of milk.
• Cool the cooked onions before mixing them in, otherwise they start to warm the meat and the texture turns crumbly.
• Fry a teaspoon of the mixture in a pan and taste it before shaping if you want to check the seasoning.
• Baking on a tray rather than in a tin gives you more browned edges, and the fat drains away from the loaf.