Individual BBQ Meatloaves

Yes, this is a thing….and it’s delicious. I’ve seen a couple of versions all over food TV so I thought I’d make one up myself. It’s something different from your everyday meatloaf, so give it a try. Plus anything is good with mac and cheese.

Feel free to use your favorite BBQ sauce and mix and match ground beef and turkey. Works great either way. My seasoning parts are really just a guideline, so add what you like. Here’s how it goes.

• 2 lbs. ground beef/turkey
• 1 egg
• salt/pepper/crushed red pepper (optional)
• Red/yellow/green pepper small diced – enough combined for about 1 1/2 cups
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons Dijon (or yellow)mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce plus more for toping the loaves

Heat the olive oil in a medium size skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onions and peppers until they are soft, season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, and remove from the heat. While that cools, put the ground meat in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper). Break it up with a fork to get things started. Add the beaten egg, panko, worchestershire sauce, BBQ sauce and dijon mustard. Add the cooked vegetables and mix.

Now, I like to do a little “test patty” to make sure I have enough seasoning and sauce added. Just make a small patty and cook it in the skillet you made the veggies in….no need for more dishes to wash! Check for salt, seasoning, BBQ sauce and adjust the mixture before you portion out the rest of them. At this point you can make them the size you want and put them on a parchment lined sheet pan. I like the little ones because the cook faster for a weeknight dinner, but loaf size will be delicious too.

I like to brush with more BBQ sauce and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 35-40 minutes for the individual size, but cook time depends on how thick you make them. Best way to make sure they are done is to check them at 160 degrees internal temp, on whatever size you choose to make.

I love this with mac and cheese, extra BBQ sauce and maybe some broccoli or green beans too. Enjoy!