Slow-Cooker Meatloaf

By ClaudiaJan

The convenience of a slow-cooker is time. Prep some ingredients, set the timer on the slow-cooker, go about your day, and have a satisfying meal like a meatloaf ready for dinner. Follow these tips for an appetizing meatloaf you and your slow-cooker can create for dinner tonight. UPDATE: Here’s a perfect meatloaf recipe specially calibrated for slow-cooker goodness! Combine this with the tips below for great results.

1. Ensure even heating.

Slow-cookers tend to produce more heat in the back of the unit. (This is the side of the slow cooker without the controls.) To make sure your meatloaf cooks evenly, get some heavy-duty aluminum foil. Make a collar for the insert of the slow-cooker. Line the inside with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

2. Plan your escape route.

Aluminum foil prep will also help get the meatloaf out of the slow cooker when the meatloaf is done. Take a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, fold in half, and spray with non-stick vegetable spray. Do the same with a second piece of foil. Lay one piece of foil in the slow-cooker insert, from left to right, allowing the ends to hang over the sides of the slow-cooker. Take the second piece of foil and place it front to back in the insert with the ends also hanging over the sides. The ends of the foil can hang over all four sides when the lid is placed on the slow-cooker. The two strips of heavy-duty aluminum foil will act as a sling to lift the meatloaf out of the slow-cooker intact when done.

3. Leave the grease behind.

Lifting the meatloaf out of the slow cooker in the foil sling also leaves behind any residual greasiness. Tilt the sling slightly as you lift the meatloaf out of the slow-cooker to drain and leave any cooking juices behind.

4. Deepen your flavors.

The moist environment of a slow-cooker can mute the flavors of a meatloaf. Deepen the flavor of the meat with a combination of ingredients like tomato paste, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, which all enhance the flavor in the meat. Don’t underestimate the benefits of sautéed onions and garlic for aromatics in your meatloaf recipe. Add these, after they have cooled, as you shape your meatloaf.

5. Broil for a crunchy crust.

One last step will help give your meatloaf a crust. Brush with a layer of ketchup spiked with molasses, or your favorite barbecue sauce, before starting the cooking time. This by itself will add another layer of flavor, but not a crust. To form a crust on the meatloaf when done, lift the meatloaf out of the slow-cooker, place it on a baking sheet, and flatten the aluminum foil. Brush another layer of the ketchup or barbecue sauce on the meatloaf and slide under the broiler of your oven for 2-3 minutes. (Make sure you washed the brush after the first use, when the meat was raw.) A quick broil will caramelize the sugars in the ketchup or barbecue sauce and produce a crunchy crust that contrasts with the moist interior of the meatloaf.

Serve your slow-cooker meatloaf with buttery egg noodles or mashed potatoes for dinner.

Alice Knisley Matthias is a mom of two boys who love to trade weird-but-true facts. She writes about food, family, education and garden. She loves to cook, grow fresh herbs, and believes in an organic lifestyle for her family in the kitchen and the garden. Her work has appeared in Eating Well, Highlights for Children, Boys’ Life, Chicken Soup for the Soul, What to Expect, Cook n’ Scribble and an America’s Test Kitchen Cook’s Country Cookbook. She is a regular blogger for Kids Discover and the author of herbinkitchen.

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 3 slices sandwich bread, chopped
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 lb ground beef, 85 percent lean
• 2 large shallots
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbsp molasses

Preparation

Step 1

Mince garlic. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of kosher salt to help break down the garlic. Alternate chopping, and using the flat part of the knife, to drag over the garlic and salt mixture to form a paste. Chop herbs into mixture. Place in the bottom of a mixing bowl.

Chop the slices of sandwich bread into small cubes and soak in ½ cup of whole milk to moisten for about 30 seconds. Add the cubes soaked in milk to the mixing bowl. (This step helps keep the meatloaf moist in the environment of a slow cooker and it works for cooking a meatloaf in the oven too.)

Place the meat in the mixing bowl.

Using a hand-held grater, grate the shallots directly over the bowl. Be sure to scrape off any bits on the back of the grater after working with the shallots.

Add eggs, Worcestershire, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, tomato paste, and paprika to the mixing bowl.

Use your hands to mix all the ingredients and form a loaf. Place the meatloaf in your slow-cooker.

Mix the ketchup and molasses. Brush half the mixture on the meatloaf.

Cover the slow-cooker with the lid and turn to the lowest setting. Cook for 4 hours.

Remove the meatloaf and place on baking sheet. Brush with the remaining ketchup and molasses mixture. Slide under the broiler of your oven to form a crust for 1-2 minutes.