Ina Garten Builds Mouthwatering Meatloaf Flavor With One Extra Step

Meatloaf is a classic weeknight dinner that can be as easy or elaborate as you want to make it. A great meatloaf starts with the right ground beef blend, and, though it might be another animal, turkey meatloaf also requires a particular proportion – one that has a precise fat ratio for peak performance. Whether you're using these meats or any of the many other worthy bases, mix-ins like jalapeño slices, Parmesan, and onions can make a meatloaf more magnificent.

Food Network personality, cookbook author, and all-around culinary businessperson, Ina Garten, has a way to zhuzh up an ordinary meatloaf with onions that make even your loveliest loaf worthy of praise. In a clip from "Barefoot Contessa," Garten sautés diced onions to bring out their sweet side, which marries well with an otherwise savory preparation. With just a few other ingredients, the 10-minute prep step imparts a lot of additional flavor.

Allay your concerns: Garten doesn't commit to the fully caramelized onions that can take about an hour to cook for a meatloaf that shouldn't take much longer than that in and of itself. But she doesn't merely heat them up, either. Instead, she uses three cups of chopped onions (per two-and-a-half pounds of ground chuck) and sautes them in oil with chopped fresh thyme, salt, and black pepper. She cooks them over medium-low heat until translucent. A bit of Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste are mixed in as the onions begin to cool.

Now, the chopped raw onions you might be used to folding into your meatloaf can also be terrific, but sauteing them takes the edge off, transforming their flavor. Once softened in the pan, their bite mellows and their silken texture yields against the meat. You can also toss some sliced or minced garlic in with the onions to incorporate its wonderful bouquet and somewhat subdued finish versus the more prickly bite of a raw clove. Just remember that the additional allium will cook up quickly; add it to the pan with little more than a minute to spare. 

You can also swap some of the onions with shallots. You probably don't want to make a total exchange, as the latter is typically sweeter than many of the onion varieties you likely keep on hand, but a half cup switcharoo can add an interesting dynamic to the dish. Garten's meatloaf is also topped with ketchup in keeping with a little bit of Americana by way of condiments.