Meatloaf with Brown Sugar - Ketchup Glaze

For me, meatloaf is one of those comfort foods that deserves more respect than most people give it.  We used to have meatloaf about once a month.  My mother probably served it to us because it was a way to stretch a pound of ground meat.  Admittedly, there are many things that can mess it up.  Over cooking it into a meat brick, or putting it into a bread pan and letting it stew are just a couple of ways to I have made this recipe twice.  As luck would have it, at neither time did I have the bacon that is mentioned in the recipe.  I realize that bacon makes everything taste better, but rest assured the recipe holds its own even without the bacon. The recipe give three choices of filler, bread crumbs, soda crackers or oatmeal.  I used oatmeal both times.  I haven't tried it any other way. Pairs well with peas and mashed potatoes.
Recipe from: Cooks Illustrated

Serves 6 to 8. Published September 1, 1996.
If you like, you can omit the bacon topping from the loaf. In this case, brush on half the glaze before baking and the other half during the last fifteen minutes of baking. If available at your supermarket in the meat case or by special order, you can use 2 pounds meatloaf mix in place of the ground beef, pork, and veal.

Ingredients

 Brown Sugar - Ketchup Glaze

• 1/2 cup ketchup or chili sauce
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons cider vinegar or white vinegar

Meatloaf

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
•  1 medium onion , chopped medium
•  2 medium cloves garlic , minced
•  2 large eggs
•  1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
•  1 teaspoon table salt
•  1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
•  2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
•  2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
•  1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
•  1/2 cup whole milk or plain yogurt
•  1 pound ground beef chuck
•  1/2 pound ground pork
•  1/2 pound ground veal
•  2/3 cup Saltine crackers , crushed (about 16), or quick oatmeal, or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
•  1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
•  6 - 8 ounces bacon , thin sliced (8 to 12 slices, depending on loaf shape)

Instructions

1. FOR THE GLAZE: Mix all ingredients in small saucepan; set aside.
2. FOR THE MEATLOAF: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.
3. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple tablespoons at a time until mix no longer sticks.)
4. Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9-by-5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf, (see illustration 1, below).
5. Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool at least 20 minutes. Simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until thickened slightly. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.