Unbelievably good meatloaf, that also happens to be gluten free.

This is my celiac friendly version of a meatloaf recipe I originally discovered on Alton Brown’s cooking show, Good Eats. This recipe has been modified to include pork as well as beef and has 2 choices of substitutions for the original breadcrumbs called for.

It’s easy and it’s homey and it’s delicious.

For those of you not familiar with Alton Brown, he’s a food network star that deconstructs favorite foods to reveal the science behind the cooking and in the process manages to come up with better ways to make classic dishes. His show (Good Eats) and books are well worth a look.

Gluten Free Meatloaf

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 ½ tsps of salt
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp freshly ground cracked pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cups of white mushrooms, finely chopped (or substitute 1 cup of gluten free breadcrumbs)
• A little butter
• 1 tsp red chile pepper flakes or powder
• ½ tsp oregano
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ cup of ketchup
• 1 Tbls honey
• Dash of Tabasco and a dash of Worcestershire

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Heat a Tbls or so of butter in a medium skillet and sauté the mushrooms until softened, 2 or 3 minutes will do. (The mushrooms take the place of the breadcrumbs, making the loaf gluten free and keeping it from getting too dense)
3. In a bowl, mix together the two meats, all of the herbs, the egg, the onion, the garlic, the salt and pepper and the mushrooms (if not using mushrooms, substitute 1 cup of gluten free bread crumbs)
4. Mix well and then test a small amount of the meat mixture for seasoning by microwaving a spoonful in a small bowl until cooked. If needed, adjust seasonings (you should be OK, but this is an easy step and it ensures a tasty loaf…ever forgot the salt in a recipe!?! I have, and so I like to taste as I go!)
5. Pat the meat into a loaf pan. Place a little parchment paper on a baking sheet (you could also use aluminum foil) and invert the loaf pan onto the parchment paper. Tap the bottom of the loaf pan with a knife before you lift it away, to ensure that your meat loaf slides cleanly out of the loaf pan and onto the paper.
6. Mix together the ketchup, honey, hot sauce and Worcestershire
7. Place the meatloaf into the preheated oven, and after 10 or 15 minutes or so, take out briefly to spread the glaze over all exposed sides. Continue cooking until you reach 150 degrees on an instant read thermometer in the deepest interior of the loaf (about 40 minutes)
   

That’s it that’s all. This is so very good!