Double Header Tonight: First, Turkey Meatloaf

So maybe tonight I didn't work out, or rid my kitchen floor of the numerous dust bunnies congregating under the table, or fold away my shorts and tank tops for the winter, or finish decorating for Christmas...  but I did a double header in the kitchen!

First up was Turkey Meatloaf.  I found this recipe in one of The Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks a few years ago and have loved it ever since.  When I found it, I was so excited to have a meatloaf recipe that seemed just a little less bourgeoisie.  That's a laugh.  It's still just a really big pile of meat!  But it's turkey, so it is much leaner than your typical beef.  I'm not going to give you this recipe, though, because I have some very strange numbers recorded (1/2 of 3/4 cup of ketchup???).  You'd be better off flipping through her cookbooks, I think!

And with that stunning intro...

Here are the Turkey Meatloaf players:

Two pounds of turkey!  I used one 85/15 and one 93/7 so it has just enough fat to cook well.

First, chop your onion.  Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat.  Add the onions, 1/4 tsp. dried thyme, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  Cook until tender and translucent, but not browned.  Here's how they start out:

Next, mix chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce and a tiny dab of tomato paste.  It'll be an ugly brownish mix.  I think the better your Worcestershire sauce, the darker the mix.  I've about decided that Worcestershire is another thing you shouldn't buy generic.  Go for the real deal.

Next, mix your ground turkey, (beaten) eggs, and bread crumbs.  What happened below?  Well, let me tell you.  I didn't read my recipe well, so I dumped in my eggs without beating them.  Then I noticed that little step and thought, Oh I can pour those eggs into something to beat them!  Not quite.  These are the mistakes that riddle my kitchen existence.  I've learned to just scoop up the little mess and carry on.



Eggs beaten, I proceeded with my recipe without further mistakes.

The onions take about 15 minutes to finish and should look like this, and should smell soooo good.

Add the chicken stock mixture to them and let cool to room temperature.  I think this is so you don't start baking your eggs as soon as you dump the onions into the turkey mixture.

After the onion mixture is cooled, dump it into the turkey mixture and mix well.  Don't want any chunks of bread or egg or onion, right?!

Here's the icky part.  You have to shape that mixture into a loaf.  Use an ungreased pan.

It wasn't so bad, really.

Spread 1/2 of a 3/4 cup of ketchup on the top of the meatloaf.

We're eating ours tomorrow, so I haven't baked it yet.  But it'll have to bake about 1 1/2 hours at 325.  The Barefoot Contessa suggests putting a pan of water in the oven, under the meatloaf, so the top of the meatloaf doesn't crack.  Works like a charm!