Saturday Night Turkey Meatloaf

 

I was always skeptical of making a meatloaf out of turkey - too often it just not very flavorful and dry. Two parts of this recipe made this a game changer. First, by creating a panade (which is a combination of starch and liquid that keeps the protein in the meat from shrinking and tightening during cooking. As the meat cooks, the starch turns into a gel that acts as type of lubricant between the protein fibers). Basically, this keeps the meatloaf moist. Second, the pancetta adds so much flavor that offsets the blandness of the turkey. Who knew??

This is good just as is, or, even better with a little bit of turkey or poultry gravy. The leftovers make great Sunday lunch sandwiches. Yum!

Saturday Night Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients:
• 2 slices soft white or wheat bread, torn into small pieces 
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 thin slices pancetta, finely chopped
• 3/4 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning mix
• 1/4 cup Italian-seasoned dry breadcrumbs (or plain and add 1/2 teaspoon more of the oregano)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• Freshly ground black pepper (to taste - we like a lot of pepper!)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the bread and milk in a large bowl and soak for 10 minutes. 

Add the turkey, eggs. cheese, pancetta, onion, garlic, ketchup, parsley, oregano or Italian seasoning, breadcrumbs, garlic salt, onion powder and pepper. 

Mix well with your hands. Shape into an 8-inch-by-5-inch loaf and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and drizzle more ketchup all over the top of the loaf (if desired)

Bake until an insta read thermometer inserted at the center reaches 165 degrees, about 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven and let loaf rest for 10 minutes before moving to serving plate.

Tons of flavor!

Adapted from Valerie Bertinelli's "One Dish at a Time: Delicious Recipes and Stories from My Italian-American Childhood and Beyond".