Bon Appetit- Hoisin Glazed Meatloaf Sandwiches

For the first 20 years of my marriage Big Pete would never let me make meatloaf. He had some weird image of something from his past and was afraid. One day he was at a restaurant and had Kobe beef meatloaf and he was in love. Today, if I ask him what I should make for dinner fifty percent of the time he will say meatloaf. Go figure?

This is a great recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine. It is an Asian inspired Banh meatloaf.

I have subscribed to this magazine for years. The reason you need to buy or subscribe to cooking/food magazines is because it gives you new ideas and inspiration. You do not want to be the person who cooks spaghetti on Mondays, tuna casserole on Tuesdays etc.. don't be that person that makes 7 things exactly the same way forever.  Don't be that guy!

There are lots of steps and lots of ingredients but, its worth it. I made it on a weekend and instead of making one large loaf I made two. One we had for dinner and the second one I froze for later.

You will need:


Hoisin Glaze

• 3/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 1" piece of ginger, peeled, minced
• 1 garlic clove

Meatloaf

• nonstick spray or olive oil
• 2 cups 1/2" cubes day old crust less white bread (2 slices)
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 1/3 cups thinly sliced scallions/green onions (white and light green & dark green separate)
• 3 celery stalks, minced (about 1 cup)
• 1 4" piece of ginger, peeled, minced
• 7 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 large eggs (beaten)
• 3 whole star anise. finely ground in a spice mill (about 2 tsp ground) or 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Topping/ Salad

• 1 cup each matchstick-size pieces peeled carrots, cucumbers and radishes
• 3/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• pinch of kosher salt
• pinch of sugar
• 4 tsp vegetable oil (divided
• 1 cup cilantro

• Sandwich bread or buns

Step 1: to make the hoisin glaze. Put the hoisin sauce, the rice vinegar, the ginger and the garlic in a small saucepan and cook on medium/low for 8-10 mins until sauce thickens to a glaze.

Step 2: Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of loaf pan with olive oil or spray and set aside.

Step 3: In a small bowl soak bread cubes in chicken broth until bread is soaked and falling apart. I used the crusts even though the recipe calls for it to be crust less.

Step 4: Chop bacon and fry until bacon is starting to crisp

Step 5: Chop white and light green of scallions, celery,ginger, garlic

Step 6: add scallions, celery, garlic, ginger to bacon in pan. Cook stirring often until softened 3-4 minutes. Let cool few minutes in pan.

Step 7: in a large bowl add ground beef, ground pork, bread mixture, the dark green portion of the scallions

Step 8: add 2 eggs, 2 tbsp of the hoisin glaze, the cooked bacon and celery mix. Mix gently until incorporated.

Step 9: form into 1 large loaf or 2 loaves.

Step 10: Cover with foil. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil: place loaf on top. (to avoid spills) Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake further 30 minutes (for half loaf) or 1 hour more for large loaf. Meatloaf should be 165 degrees when cooked. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Step 11: prepare salad. In a bowl add carrot matchsticks, radish matchsticks, cucumber matchsticks and rice vinegar, salt, sugar. Mix until combined.

Wicked Good!