Serious Eats: Recipes
Tamarind-Glazed Meatloaf
I was all set to celebrate National Meatloaf Appreciation Day with Wolfgang's bacon-wrapped meatloaf, but an afternoon spent thumbing through Suvir Saran's new cookbook, American Masala, changed my mind. I've had a lot of success with recipes from his first book, Indian Home Cooking
I saved a little prep time by using my stick blender with its chopper attachment to "finely mince" my ginger, and then my garlic and jalapeño pepper. The hardest ingredient to hunt down was the tamarind paste (it's also referred to as "tamarind concentrate"), but I found it at Kalustyan's. I followed Saran's suggestion and served the meatloaf with roasted potatoes with south indian spices. And the verdict? Delicious! The mushrooms add depth and a pleasing earthy flavor while not screaming "mushroom!" — maybe because the texture of the diced portobello so closely mimics meat when cooked. Enjoy!
Tamarind-Glazed Meatloaf
- makes 2 loaves, each serving 4 to 6 -
Ingredients
For the meatloaf:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper (cored and seeded for a milder flavor), finely minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground peppercorns
4 portobeIIo mushroom caps (about 1 pound), finely diced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 1/2 pounds ground beef (preferably 80 percent lean)
1 1/4 pounds ground pork
1 red beII pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
3 large eggs
1/2 cup ketchup
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
For the tamarind glaze:
1 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Procedure
1. To prepare the meatloaf, melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread crumbs and toast until browned, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
2. Place the water next to your cooktop. Heat the oil with the onion and salt in a large pot oven over medium·high heat, cooking the onion until it's soft and just starting to brown, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger and cook. stirring often to prevent the ginger from burning, and splashing with water if it starts to brown too much, until it's fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook until the garlic is fragrant, splashing water if necessary, for about 1 minute. Stir in the coriander, cumin, and ground peppercorns and cook for 1 minute, stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet often and splashing it with water whenever the spices or onion begin to stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they release their liquid and the liquid has evaporated, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the cayenne pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the Garam Masala, turn off the heat, and set the pot aside to cool.
4. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl with the toasted bread crumbs, kneading it until everything is completely incorporated. Add the cooled mushroom mixture and knead again until combined. Divide the mixture evenly into two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans and bake for 1 hour (or cover the loaf pan with
plastic wrap, place inside of a resealable freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months; defrost overnight in your refrigerator before baking).
5. While the meatloaves bake, make the tamarind glaze. In a small bowl whisk the glaze ingredients together. Remove the loaves from the oven and carefully drain off the pooled fat from the pan. Evenly spread some glaze over each meat loaf and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 165°F on a digital thermometer. Let the loaves cool for 15 minutes before serving. Run a knife around the pan's edge, slice, and serve.