Skip The Ketchup And Make Meatloaf With This For 10x The Flavor

While it certainly isn't the new kid on the block, meatloaf is a workhorse dinner choice. It is budget-friendly, easy and forgiving to assemble, feeds a crowd, and makes great leftovers like creative meatloaf sandwiches or even meatloaf spaghetti. Although ketchup often figures prominently as you visualize meatloaf prep, you can upgrade your next attempt by swapping out this sweet but basic tomato condiment for the earthier tang of gochujang.

Gochujang is a Korean chili paste that you may have seen cropping up on everything from chicken wings to Marcus Samuelsson-approved BBQ ribs. While it does contain chilis, it also contains so much more, such as fermented soybeans, soy sauce, salt, and yeast extracts. This complex and savory paste also contains rice, which makes it a natural addition to meatloaf, as it helps with binding the meat mixture. It is also rounded out with a sweetener, meaning that it hits all of the five basic tastes in one go. That's a lot of heavy lifting for a single ingredient, and it takes humble meatloaf to a decidedly more grown-up and cheffy terrain.

While gochujang itself does pack a punch, when added to meatloaf, it simply lends notes of its fermented kick and depth without overpowering the whole equation with spice. Many people have a meatloaf recipe in their back pocket, or simply add ingredients like breadcrumbs and spices until the mixture looks "right." If you are in the eyeball-it category, try a tablespoon or two of gochujang as you doctor up your minced meat and ready it for baking. You may find that you can omit other common ingredients like Worcestershire as the gochujang ticks the boxes on earthiness.

Meatloaf is not only about the interior, but also about the sweet and caramelized top. Instead of drizzling (or dousing) the top of your meatloaf with ketchup like you may have learned from your grandma, use the gochujang to make a sweet glaze that borders on addictive. Just as with your meat mixture, the ratios and additions for your topping welcome tinkering to your liking. Suffice it to say that swirling a few tablespoons of gochujang with apricot jam, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar will get you going. This combo is the crowning touch to lavish on your meatloaf in the final 10 minutes of cooking. Just be warned that your old meatloaf may taste like child's play after giving this gochujang hack a try.