"Mexican" Meatloaf

I’ve made meatloaf before, but I wasn’t too happy with the results, so I went back to the drawing board and decided to keep it simple. This recipe comes from the Betty Crocker Cookbook, with slight variation to the ingredients, and the bain marie cooking method that Michael Ruhlman uses in his book Ruhlman’s Twenty.  The meatloaf I made last year was on the dry side, but this one is anything but. Nothing complex here, but keeping it simple yields the best results in this case.

Meatloaf:

1.5 lbs ground beef/pork/veal mix

2 shallots, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 jalapeno deseeded and diced

1 tablespoon mustard

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 egg

1/3 cup salsa (store brand)

2/3 cup milk

½ cup panko bread crumbs

¾ cup monterrey jack and cheddar cheese blend

Chipotle Ketchup:

1 cup ketchup

2 chipotle chilis in adobo

1 teaspoon fish sauce

Add all the meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands. You want everything incorporated, but don’t go overboard and overmix it.

Place the mixture into a loaf pan.

Place the chipotle ketchup ingredients in a blender and liquefy. Taste and add more peppers if you like it a bit spicy.

Spoon the ketchup on top of the meatloaf. You’ll have some leftover ketchup. Cover the meatloaf pan with aluminum foil.

Place the loaf pan in a large baking dish, and fill with water until it comes halfway up the side of the pan. Remove the meatloaf pan, and place the water-filled baking dish in an oven and heat to 300°F.

Carefully place the loaf pan into the water (rubber oven mitts are fantastic here) and cook for 1.5 hours. Remove from the oven and take the foil off the loaf pan. Place the meatloaf under a broiler for about a minute, just to give it a little color.