The Art of Making the Perfect Turkey Meatloaf

As a self-proclaimed meatloaf snob, I have perfected the art of creating a dish that is both moist and flavorful without being too dry or juicy. The key to this lies in using the right balance of ingredients, including ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, ketchup, salt, pepper, and of course, onions. In my recipe, I start by finely chopping an onion and sautéing it in olive oil until it becomes soft and translucent. This adds a depth of flavor to the meatloaf that is essential for achieving the perfect balance of taste and texture.

With the onions ready, I move on to preparing the meatloaf mixture. I combine 1 pound and a half of ground turkey with 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, 4 ounces of ketchup, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. The addition of bread crumbs helps to keep the meatloaf dry and prevents it from becoming too wet. The ketchup adds a tangy flavor that complements the natural taste of the turkey, while the egg helps to bind everything together and give the meatloaf its shape.

To ensure that the meatloaf is cooked evenly, I press the mixture into the bottom of a loaf pan. This ensures that the meatloaf cooks consistently throughout, without any areas becoming overcooked or undercooked. To add an extra layer of flavor, I sprinkle some chopped parsley on top of the meatloaf, which adds a fresh and herbaceous note to the dish.

Once the meatloaf is assembled, I place it in the oven at 350°F for about an hour, or until it is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. While the meatloaf is cooking, I prepare the topping by mixing together some ketchup, olive oil, salt, and pepper. This adds a sweet and tangy flavor to the top of the meatloaf, which complements its savory taste.

To finish off the dish, I chop up an onion and sprinkle it on top of the meatloaf, along with a few slices of tomato and some lettuce. I also add a dollop of mayonnaise or mustard, depending on personal preference. The addition of these toppings adds a fresh and crunchy texture to the dish, which cuts through the richness of the meatloaf.

The result is a perfectly cooked turkey meatloaf that is both flavorful and moist. The key to achieving this perfect balance lies in using the right ingredients and techniques, including sautéing the onions until they are soft and translucent, adding the right amount of bread crumbs to keep the meatloaf dry, and cooking it evenly throughout. With these tips and tricks, you can create a delicious turkey meatloaf that is sure to please even the pickiest eaters.

One of the best things about making your own meatloaf is that it's surprisingly easy. The recipe consists of just a few ingredients, including ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, ketchup, salt, pepper, and onions. By combining these ingredients in the right proportions and cooking them evenly, you can create a dish that is both moist and flavorful without being too dry or juicy.

The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity. The addition of just a few extra ingredients, such as onions and ketchup, takes the humble meatloaf to a whole new level of flavor and texture. By sautéing the onions until they are soft and translucent, I add a depth of flavor that is essential for achieving the perfect balance of taste and texture.

As I mentioned earlier, my husband often jokes that if you're not making a mess in the kitchen, you're not really cooking. And I have to agree with him. There's something satisfying about getting your hands dirty and mixing together ingredients until they're just combined. It's a tactile experience that adds to the overall enjoyment of cooking.

In this recipe, I've found that using a combination of ground turkey and bread crumbs helps to keep the meatloaf dry and prevents it from becoming too wet. By adding a small amount of ketchup, I also add a tangy flavor that complements the natural taste of the turkey. And by pressing the mixture into the bottom of a loaf pan, I ensure that the meatloaf cooks evenly throughout.

One of the things I love about this recipe is its versatility. Whether you're serving it for dinner or as a snack, this turkey meatloaf is sure to please. You can serve it on its own, accompanied by a side salad or some roasted vegetables. Or, you can use it as a base for a sandwich, topped with your favorite toppings such as tomato, lettuce, and mayonnaise.

Overall, making this turkey meatloaf is a simple yet effective way to add flavor and moisture to your meals. By using the right ingredients and techniques, including sautéing the onions until they are soft and translucent and cooking it evenly throughout, you can create a dish that is both flavorful and moist without being too dry or juicy. So next time you're in the mood for something comforting and delicious, give this recipe a try!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso i'm making meatloaf today it's one of his favorite things and i'm gonna start with some onion that i'm just gonna saute get it softened in the pan i got about a tablespoon of olive oil i'm just gonna put these this finely chopped onion in and i'm just gonna saute for about five minutes until they get soft and translucent and that will just give extra flavor to this turkey meatloaf that i'm gonna make and then i'm gonna add a little bit of chopped parsley just a couple of tablespoons it's nice to put something a little fresh in the meatloaf so i've got this nice fresh parsley i'm gonna just add to these onions this just needs to go in for a couple of minutes i kind of am a meatloaf snob and i don't like it to be too dry i don't like it to be too juicy both of those are not good so i really kind of perfected the art of just enough egg to make it kind of moist but not too much and that's the nice thing about turkey turkey is leaner you don't get such a mushy meatloaf there's nobody wants a mushy meatloaf so this is the perfect consistency this is goldilocks meatloaf all right while that's finishing up i'm gonna get the meatloaf put together the great thing about meatloaf too it's like three or four ingredients and you're done so there's our pound and a half of ground turkey meat and bread crumbs now my mama used to use saltine crackers you can crush up a butter cracker if you wanted to but i'm just going to use bread crumbs today and i'm going to use about a cup that's part of your consistency that's part of keeping it dry making sure it doesn't get too wet fourth of a cup of ketchup and just one egg this will help bind everything together and help the meatloaf keep its shape about a teaspoon of salt teaspoon of pepper and there's your meatloaf pretty simple huh i'm gonna just mash this together you could just get in here with your hands if this doesn't get together like you want it to and i might do that in just a second which i think i'm getting ready to because that's how i do it i'm gonna get it just mixed up my mama always said clean hands make really good mixers so that's how she would let us help in the kitchen when we were little she'd usually let us you know kid wants to put their hands in the food so she'd usually let us do that i guess i need to add these onions in they're probably still nice and warm so we got ketchup inside the meatloaf we got onions inside the meatloaf and then we're gonna put onions and ketchup on top of the meatloaf as well so i am making a mess and quoting another favorite of my husband who says if you're not making a mess in the kitchen you're not really cooking so i am cooking all right that's looking just about right i'm just gonna press this into the bottom of this little loaf pan just gonna make sure it's all around the edges and i really think that i'm gonna need to wash my hands so take my mess out of here i'll be right back so i'm gonna put some ketchup on top and then just a couple of tablespoons and then i'm gonna take a spoon and evenly distribute it across the top gives it a nice flavor ketchup is good there's a little sugar to go in there with all that savory so that's a good thing and i'm gonna chop up an onion i'm not going to finely chop them i'm just going to give some kind of big thick slices on top drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top a little salt and pepper and they're going to be ready to go in the oven and this cooks for about an hour on 350. he's gonna be such a happy guy it's probably gonna make him work more you know he figures the more he goes out in the field and works the more he gets a snack when he when he's worked hard a little salt and pepper on top and into the oven we go and in an hour we're gonna have awesome turkey meatloam it's time to assemble these awesome turkey sandwiches one for garth and one for me and i'm gonna make his the way i know he likes it and i'm gonna make mine the way i know i like it i'm just gonna do a little bit of mayonnaise for me mustard for him so i'm gonna do nice thin slices for me because that's how i roll and then i'm gonna do what we call garth slices at home for him that's a cowboy slice right there okay tomatoes and some lettuce i like a little bit of the coleslaw on my sandwich sandwich is ready i'm gonna slice them on the diagonal cause that's how mama would do it okay that looks like a manly cowboy sandwich youso i'm making meatloaf today it's one of his favorite things and i'm gonna start with some onion that i'm just gonna saute get it softened in the pan i got about a tablespoon of olive oil i'm just gonna put these this finely chopped onion in and i'm just gonna saute for about five minutes until they get soft and translucent and that will just give extra flavor to this turkey meatloaf that i'm gonna make and then i'm gonna add a little bit of chopped parsley just a couple of tablespoons it's nice to put something a little fresh in the meatloaf so i've got this nice fresh parsley i'm gonna just add to these onions this just needs to go in for a couple of minutes i kind of am a meatloaf snob and i don't like it to be too dry i don't like it to be too juicy both of those are not good so i really kind of perfected the art of just enough egg to make it kind of moist but not too much and that's the nice thing about turkey turkey is leaner you don't get such a mushy meatloaf there's nobody wants a mushy meatloaf so this is the perfect consistency this is goldilocks meatloaf all right while that's finishing up i'm gonna get the meatloaf put together the great thing about meatloaf too it's like three or four ingredients and you're done so there's our pound and a half of ground turkey meat and bread crumbs now my mama used to use saltine crackers you can crush up a butter cracker if you wanted to but i'm just going to use bread crumbs today and i'm going to use about a cup that's part of your consistency that's part of keeping it dry making sure it doesn't get too wet fourth of a cup of ketchup and just one egg this will help bind everything together and help the meatloaf keep its shape about a teaspoon of salt teaspoon of pepper and there's your meatloaf pretty simple huh i'm gonna just mash this together you could just get in here with your hands if this doesn't get together like you want it to and i might do that in just a second which i think i'm getting ready to because that's how i do it i'm gonna get it just mixed up my mama always said clean hands make really good mixers so that's how she would let us help in the kitchen when we were little she'd usually let us you know kid wants to put their hands in the food so she'd usually let us do that i guess i need to add these onions in they're probably still nice and warm so we got ketchup inside the meatloaf we got onions inside the meatloaf and then we're gonna put onions and ketchup on top of the meatloaf as well so i am making a mess and quoting another favorite of my husband who says if you're not making a mess in the kitchen you're not really cooking so i am cooking all right that's looking just about right i'm just gonna press this into the bottom of this little loaf pan just gonna make sure it's all around the edges and i really think that i'm gonna need to wash my hands so take my mess out of here i'll be right back so i'm gonna put some ketchup on top and then just a couple of tablespoons and then i'm gonna take a spoon and evenly distribute it across the top gives it a nice flavor ketchup is good there's a little sugar to go in there with all that savory so that's a good thing and i'm gonna chop up an onion i'm not going to finely chop them i'm just going to give some kind of big thick slices on top drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top a little salt and pepper and they're going to be ready to go in the oven and this cooks for about an hour on 350. he's gonna be such a happy guy it's probably gonna make him work more you know he figures the more he goes out in the field and works the more he gets a snack when he when he's worked hard a little salt and pepper on top and into the oven we go and in an hour we're gonna have awesome turkey meatloam it's time to assemble these awesome turkey sandwiches one for garth and one for me and i'm gonna make his the way i know he likes it and i'm gonna make mine the way i know i like it i'm just gonna do a little bit of mayonnaise for me mustard for him so i'm gonna do nice thin slices for me because that's how i roll and then i'm gonna do what we call garth slices at home for him that's a cowboy slice right there okay tomatoes and some lettuce i like a little bit of the coleslaw on my sandwich sandwich is ready i'm gonna slice them on the diagonal cause that's how mama would do it okay that looks like a manly cowboy sandwich you\n"