The Prep Step That Makes For Far Better Meatloaf

Meatloaf is at once unpretentious and a culinary darling. It's comforting, versatile, flavorful, and popular. It's one of those dishes that everyone seems to have a soft spot for — our grandparents, our parents, and our kids. There are numerous ways to prepare the dish with many chefs like Rocco DiSpirito offering tips on how to make the best meatloaf. Most of us have heard that the meat mix matters, that binders are necessary, and wrapping it in bacon fixes any flaws. However, one element that doesn't get a ton of attention is the onion that goes in the meatloaf.

Many, if not most, meatloaf recipes call for onion to be a part of the mix. This pungent bulb adds tons of flavor and some sweetness to the dish. While it's often diced, grating it can make a huge difference. When you grate your onions into your meatloaf mix, you are shredding the vegetable into smaller pieces which will incorporate more widely and evenly into the final dish. Grating also releases more of the onion's moisture, ultimately benefitting the texture of the meatloaf. The uniformity of grated onion means that anyone eating the dish is unlikely to encounter off-putting, large chunks of onion. 

There's no need to grate the onion super finely; a pass along the largest side of your box grater will give you perfect results. (Grating will still release those pesky onion fumes, but you can try this odd bread hack to stop yourself from crying while dealing with the onion.)

While you can use any type of onion in your meatloaf, there is definitely a difference between white, yellow, and red onions. For a delicious, classic onion flavor that's neither too mild nor too strong, reach for yellow onions. White onions will be sweeter and milder, while red onions are going to give you the most pungent flavor. There's no wrong choice here, you just might need to adjust the amounts you use. For example, if you normally like to use yellow onion but you only have red, just decrease the amount of grated onion you put in your meatloaf.

If you like a sweeter onion flavor, consider caramelizing your onions first. Dice or thinly slice the onions and cook them slowly over low heat until they become golden in color. This method of cooking will slowly release the onions' sugars and make them so good that you could eat them straight from the pan. Mix them into your meatloaf before you bake it in the oven. You could even go one step further and top your meatloaf with onion jam. These jams are often made with additional ingredients like tomatoes, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar, all of which taste amazing on any given meatloaf.