Rocco DiSpirito's Secret Ingredient For Bold And Flavorful Meatloaf

Meatloaf is an underappreciated dish in America today. While some foodies will never accept meatloaf into their hearts, others, like beloved celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, are more than willing to tout their love for a good meatloaf.

A renowned meatball master, Chef Rocco knows meatloaf and has tips for making the perfect batch, such as using fatty ground beef and ground bacon to make its base. However, his advice regarding the dish seemingly knows no bounds, as he has even more ways to make meatloaf the best it possibly can be. Among these methods, one that stands out to many is DiSpirito's use of espresso powder in his meatloaf recipe, specifically in the glaze he uses for the meal. According to the tenured chef, espresso powder can give it an enhanced meaty flavor that is sure to further validate your love for the dish.

While many know that espresso powder enhances baked goods, its use in other forms of cooking oftentimes goes unnoticed and underappreciated by the masses. Luckily, chef Rocco DiSpirito isn't known for shying away from these sorts of ingredients.

This espresso meatloaf trick comes from DiSpirito's cookbook entitled "Rocco's Healthy & Delicious: More than 200 (Mostly) Plant-Based Recipes for Everyday Life," which was released in 2017. The fact that a meatloaf tactic was included in a primarily plant-based cookbook might surprise you, but the espresso meatloaf made up for that fact by being so unique and impactful.

During a discussion with Food52, Rocco explained the thought process behind putting espresso into his meatloaf, along with other unique elements of his recipe. "Yes, just 2 teaspoons of espresso powder in the topping to amplify the beefy flavor of meatloaf," Rocco clarified, "This recipe is gluten-free, too, since it uses puffed rice (instead of bread) as a binder."

While the revelation that using puffed rice can also improve your meatloaf is a profound one in and of itself, the espresso addition is no slouch, even without that additional step. The boldness that espresso powder is oftentimes recognized for adds a flavor boost that works almost too well with the dish, perfectly accentuating the tasty goodness meatloaf lovers know and love.