All-American Down-Home Patriotic Meatloaf Sandwich

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 4 sandwiches, plus lots of extra meatloaf
  • Total: 1 hr 45 min
  • Prep: 15 min
  • Inactive: 20 min
  • Cook: 1 hr 10 min
The key to my meatloaf, and even my meatballs: always use 1 egg for every pound of meat you have...you'll thank me later.
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Ingredients

Meatloaf:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small Spanish onion, minced

Salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup coarsely crushed soda crackers, such as Nabisco Saltine Crackers (about 24 crackers)

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

2 large eggs

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 pound ground beef chuck

8 ounces ground pork

8 ounces ground veal

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Glaze:

1/2 cup ketchup

4 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Sandwich Build:

4 slices sharp Cheddar

4 potato rolls, buttered and toasted

Bread and butter pickles (3 to 5 per sandwich)

1 can crispy onions, such as French's French Fried Onions

Directions

  1. For the meatloaf: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and onions, season with some salt and saute until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 to 2 minutes without letting the garlic brown. Remove from the heat and let cool.
  2. In a large bowl, add the crackers, milk, mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce and eggs. Whisk together, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the meat, parsley and cooled onions. Mix with your hands until evenly combined. Bake a tester meatloaf patty to taste and test the seasoning, adjusting as necessary. Using your hands, gently form the meatloaf into a loaf about 9-by-5-inches. Place on a baking sheet.
  3. For the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. Slather half of the glaze over the meatloaf. Make sure not to touch the meatloaf with the spoon and then put that spoon back into the glaze; don't cross contaminate, people! Bake until the meat registers 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour. Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing for sandwiches.
  4. For the sandwich build: Place a slice of cheese on the bottom griddled bun, then a slice of meatloaf, spoon some extra glaze on the loaf, pop on a few pickles and top with crispy onions. Repeat to make 3 more sandwiches.

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David Klug

Wow! Best meatloaf sandwich ever. We didn't use the meatloaf recipe, but rather, we used some slices of leftover meatloaf from my own recipe we've been making for years. The magic is in the sauce. We didn't use it as a glaze but as a sauce. I grilled the meatloaf slices in some beef tallow, and after turning, I put some sauce on the grilled side, then flipped that side onto the first bread slice (thick slice of brioche, grilled in butter, topped with shredded cheddar) and added a little more sauce on the second side, along with a little more shredded cheddar. That with the pickle slices and crispy onions, and the other slice of grilled brioche, made for a perfect combination of flavors. I don't know if I'll ever eat leftover meat loaf another way again.

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