The Sweet Ingredient For A Perfectly Glazed Meatloaf

Classic beef meatloaf is made by combining ground beef with a few key ingredients, including eggs, Worcestershire sauce, and breadcrumbs, to make a quick and easy yet tasty meal. It also generally includes a sauce on top of the ground beef mixture. Now, while you're welcome to just throw some ketchup on your meatloaf as the glaze and call it a day, you can also get a bit more creative. For instance, you can make your meatloaf glaze with the addition of a special ingredient: brown sugar.

Adding brown sugar to your meatloaf glaze can make for a sweet yet tangy sauce that pairs well with meatloaf. Plus, brown sugar has caramel notes that add dimension to savory meals, including meatloaf. If all that sounds like a great way to take a typical dinner to a whole new level, there are a couple of other things to know when it comes to adding brown sugar to your standard meatloaf glaze.

Most brown sugar meatloaf glazes still use ketchup as the sauce's base. However, you'll then add anywhere from 1 to 2 tablespoons and up to ¼ cup of brown sugar to it. From here, you can add a bit of vinegar or Worcestershire sauce, for example, or you could throw in other spices and mix-ins, such as onion powder, mustard, or honey. Whatever you decide to add, just stir the ingredients together and spread them over your ground beef mixture in the pan before baking.

Now, while this can make a delicious sauce for your meal, you can also try incorporating brown sugar into your meatloaf using another methodology. Instead of adding a glaze on top of your ground beef, try packing the bottom your loaf tin with brown sugar. Then, spread a layer of ketchup over the brown sugar, and finish up by placing your ground meat in the tin, and baking it as you usually would. The difference here is that you'll invert the meatloaf after it's fully cooked, so the baked-in glaze is on top. Whichever way you decide to incorporate brown sugar into your meatloaf, know that you'll be in for a delicious surprise.

Adding brown sugar to the sauce is one tip for making the best meatloaf, but it's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of ways to create a great glaze. One way is to make a mustard-based glaze rather than a ketchup-based one. Just like the tomato-based counterpart, you can still add brown sugar to really ramp up the flavor of your sauce. Similarly, you could swap the ketchup for hoisin sauce as a meatloaf glaze for a delicious Asian twist on the dish.

Or, if you prefer to try something really off the wall, you can brush your meatloaf in buffalo sauce. Add some crumbled blue cheese on top as a finishing touch and enjoy this unique twist on a classic dish. Another trick you can try is to simply glaze your meatloaf with barbecue sauce. Next time you get ready to make this hearty meal, try using one of these simple twists on the standard ketchup glaze for a better-than-ever dinner.