Tyler's Meatloaf

Tyler Florence's Dads Meatloaf

This recipe is from Tyler Florence. I am not a meatloaf fan but this is one heck of a recipe. I have yet to find a way to enhance it to make it better. His recipe can be here found on The Food Network.

This recipe make an unbelievably juicy meatloaf. I am following his recipe, minus the white bread, but adding some pictures for each of the steps.

I highly recommend everyone try this at least once.

Click on any of the thumbnails for larger pictures

Tomato Relish Ingredients

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced

2 medium sized tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 (12-ounce) bottle ketup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper (Can use Kosher salt but get Sea salt if you can)

Meatloaf Ingredients - NOTE--I removed the 3 white bread slices and replaced with 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs.

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef

1 pound ground pork

2 eggs

Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs (I like thyme and used three sprigs)

Salt and black pepper

3 to 4 bacon slices

Preparation:

Cut and chop all of the ingredients above prior to cooking. I am working on a couple demonstrations on how to cut certain vegetables like onions, bell peppers and tomatoes.

Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften.

Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating.

Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.

This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of the tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Add in the dry bread crumbs (Note- The recipe wants to add the soaked white bread, but I replaced it)

To test, fry a small "hamburger" patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency. Taste the patty for seasoning. --After tasting the patty, I added another 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet or cover with parchment paper. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9 inches long and about 4 inches wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.

Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/2 hours on 350 degrees until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that the bacon browns evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve with the remaining tomato relish on the side. Unbelievably moist!