Bloody Mary Mix Is The Ingredient Addition For A Flavor-Infused Meatloaf Glaze

Julia Holland
·3 min read
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Glazed meatloaf slices with potato wedges on a plate
Glazed meatloaf slices with potato wedges on a plate - Wsmahar/Getty Images

From Mexican barbacoa to Persian koftas, every culture has its own way of using up every last scrap of meat. In North America, meatloaf is one such recipe that not only repurposes leftover meat, but throws in the veritable kitchen sink of leftover diced veggies, herbs, and spices. Meatloaf remains a beloved and nostalgic comfort food on par with hot dogs and hamburgers as a quintessential American recipe. And a saucy glaze is the important final touch to lock in moisture as the meatloaf bakes while also creating a tasty crust.

Bloody Mary mix is the all-in-one seasoning blend that'll take your meatloaf glaze to the next level. Whether you buy it pre-made or make it from scratch, Bloody Mary mix ingredients overlap with the seasonings and sauces used to elaborate meatloaf, such as garlic, tomato, and Worcestershire sauce. So, by incorporating it into a glaze, you'll bring those tangy, aromatic, and savory flavors to the forefront. Other ingredients like celery salt, horseradish, and hot sauce will add a spicy and aromatic depth of flavor.

Considering umami-forward Bloody Mary garnishes like bacon and shrimp, you can rest assured that using Bloody Mary mix in a glaze for ground beef will be a success. In fact, recipe developers and chefs have used Bloody Mary mix for so many other things besides the namesake drink. The tasty mix can help create everything from cocktail sauces to meat marinades to beef braising liquids.

Read more: The 14 Absolute Worst Mistakes You're Making With Meatloaf

How To Add Bloody Mary Mix To Meatloaf Glaze

Bloody Mary mix in glasses with raw ingredients on a wooden surface
Bloody Mary mix in glasses with raw ingredients on a wooden surface - Veronika Idiyat/Shutterstock

Since meatloaf is made in a loaf pan, its surface area doesn't warrant a large amount of glaze; anywhere from ½ cup to ¾ cup of glaze will thoroughly coat the top of the meatloaf. Therefore, you'll have plenty of leftover Bloody Mary mix for future brunch cocktails! You have various avenues for incorporating the mix into a glaze. The first is to create a glaze out of the Bloody Mary mix itself by reducing its thin consistency over the stove.

Since it's a tomato-sauce-based liquid, simmering the Bloody Mary mix for around 15 minutes will reduce its volume by half. So, you can add a cup of Bloody Mary mix to a saucepan to get the ½ cup of glaze. Classic meatloaf recipes often use ketchup for a well-balanced sweet and savory glaze. You could also add a tablespoon of sugar or stir some honey into a Bloody Mary mix reduction to create a trifecta of sweet, spicy, and savory.

Another way to incorporate Bloody Mary mix into your glaze is to add it to the existing topping. You can adjust the proportions, using equal parts Bloody Mary mix and ketchup. For an easy upgrade to this Southern meatloaf recipe from Tasting Table recipe developer Eric Ngo, you can use equal parts Bloody Mary mix and barbecue sauce for the glaze. If the glaze is too thin with a simple half-and-half ratio, you could increase the proportion of the barbecue sauce or ketchup.

Read the original article on Tasting Table