Meatloaf With Brown Sugar Ketchup Glaze

Glaze

Step 1: Mix all ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

Meat Loaf

Step 2: Preheat oven to 350-degrees-Fahrenheit.

Step 3: Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onion and garlic, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes, set aside cool.

Step 4: Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire, pepper sauce and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in a large bowl, along with crackers, oatmeal or bread crumbs, parsley and cooked onions and garlic; mix with a fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture does stick, add additional milk,a couple tablespoons ata time, and continue stirring until mixture stops sticking.)

Step 5: Turn meat mixture onto a work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into a loaf approximately 9 - 5 inches.

To Bake Free-Form:

Step 6: Cover a wire rack with foil; prick foil in several places with a fork. Placerackona shallowroastingpan lined with foil for easy cleanup. Set formed loaf on rack. Brush loafwith all of glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf,overlapping them slightly adn tucking them under loaf to prevent curling.

Step 7: Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160-degrees-Fahrenheit, about 1 hour. Cool for at least 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

To Bake in a Loaf Pan

Step 8: Omit bacon and double glaze. Turn meat mixture into a loaf pan (preferably with a perforated bottom, fitted with a drip pan). If you don't owe one, you can skip and use a regular loaf pan. Use a fork to pull mixture away from pan sides. Brush mixture with half of glaze. Bake until glaze is set, about 45 minutes. Brush with remaining glaze and continue to bake until second coat has set and loaf registers 160-degrees-Fahrenheit, about 15 minutes longer.