Individual Turkey Meatloaves and Roasted Carrots
This recipe is an adjustment to a great recipe from Cook's Illustrated that is in the latest magazine (January 2024). I actually tested this recipe last year, and I've been using it ever since. The turkey mix can also be used for meatballs and burgers.
I did have to adjust the recipe to cook the shallot/onion first because I can't tolerate raw onions. Even though the meatloaves are cooked, starting with raw doesn't get them cooked enough. A short trip to the microwave is easy enough and does the trick for me.
I also switched the vegetable to carrots because they work well with the leftover glaze, and my picky eater does not like broccoli. I used the roasting technique I saw in Cook's Illustrated more than a decade ago. This recipe can be finished even faster if you don't want the carrots.
This recipe can be prepped quite a bit ahead of time. You can fully make the turkey mixture and keep it in the refrigerator for up to two days. You can peel and prep the carrots up to a day ahead. Once those things are done, there is not much left for the meal other than cooking, so this is a good one to prep the night before if you need an easy dinner the next day.
For the carrots, I generally cut carrots in half or thirds if they are really long. If they are skinny, I keep the bottoms part one piece, and cut the thicker tops in half. For fat carrots I will cut the thickest parts in quarters.
If your carrots are cold when you mix them with the butter, the butter will clump and not coat carrots as well. It is not a huge deal, because you can stir more after you take the foil off, but I like start with room temperature carrots when possible.
Ingredients
Ingredients with an * are listed more than once.
Directions
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Gather and prep ingredients. If you will be making immediately, preheat the oven to 425°. Place one rack in middle and one on the bottom of the oven.
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Mix melted butter, salt and pepper a small bowl.
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Toss carrots with melted butter mixture on a rimmed baking sheet.
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Cover baking sheet with foil. Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. While the carrots are cooking, you can start the meatloaf mixture.
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Put butter and minced onion or shallot in a small bowl. Microwave for about 90 seconds until soft, stirring every 30 seconds.
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Add onion/butter mixture, panko, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Process for 15-30 seconds to grind the onion.
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Add the turkey, milk, Worcestershire and pulse to combine, about 10 pulses. You can store this mixture for up to two days layer. It can also be frozen.
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Make the glaze by mixing the Dijon mustard, brown sugar, and maple syrup in a small bowl.
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Make the meatloaves. Divide meat mixture into 4 and shape into 3" x 4" loaves. Place on rimmed baking sheet. (These will release liquid and you may want to put on a cookie rack so they don't cook in the juice. I usually don't bother, because I hate cleaning the racks.)
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Spoon some glaze over the meatloaves, and use a brush to spread the glaze. I don't like to use the brush in the bowl, because any glaze that is left I will use on the carrots towards the end.
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After the carrots have cooked for 20 minutes, remove the foil. Stir the carrots once. Add the meatloaves to the oven on the bottom rack. Bake for 15 minutes.
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Spoon and brush more glaze over the meatloaves. Drizzle any remaining glaze over the carrots, and stir to combine. Continue to cook until meatloaves are 160°-165° on a thermometer. This will be about 5 more minutes.
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Remove meatloaves from oven and let them rest. Continue cooking carrots until desired tenderness. I usually cook another 5 minutes.
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Remove carrots from oven and serve with meatloaves.
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