Dec 21, 2011
3
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Southwestern Turkey Meat Loaf

The recipe for this spicy, cheese-topped meat loaf comes from home cook Matt Gibbs of Houston, Texas. This recipe first appeared in the 2012 SAVEUR 100, with the article Meatloaf.
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Southwestern Turkey Meat Loaf Enlarge Image Credit: Todd Coleman
SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

1¼ lb. ground turkey
2½ cups roughly crushed Ritz-brand crackers
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
½ cup chili sauce, such as Heinz
¼ cup prepared horseradish
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. Worcestershire
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chiles, such as Ro*Tel, drained 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 350°. In a bowl, combine turkey, 2 cups crackers, ½ cup of each cheese, chili sauce, horseradish, chili powder, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic, eggs, onion, tomatoes and chiles, and salt and pepper. Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and shape into a 10″ by 6″ loaf. Combine remaining crackers and cheeses with butter in a bowl; sprinkle over top of meat loaf. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat loaf reads 160°, about 30 minutes.
Southwestern Turkey Meat Loaf

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #144

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Ratings & Reviews (3)

noAvatar
First things first. Next time I will saute the onions and garlic prior to adding them to the loaf, I also think it could have used something extra to bond it whether it be more crackers, or eggs I couldn't say. It almost goes without saying that a cook time of 30 minutes is very short, I cooked mine for close to 1hr. 15 min.
Didn't like it much the first night, but, the leftovers have been very good. I might also add some hotter chiles to it next time, it could have used a bit of a bite.
noAvatar
My Dad and I really enjoyed this recipe, lots of melding flavours and ahh yes the Ritz crackers do work very well in this meatloaf. Excellent recipe, great to have multiple recipes for a meatloaf.
noAvatar
This turned out absolutely delicious, better than expected, especially with ground turkey as a main ingredient.

I realized too late that I didn't have the 16 oz. can of diced tomatoes with chiles but did have a can of crushed tomatoes and then diced one large serrano chile to add the mix - turned out just fine and enjoyed the spicy kick. To cut extra fat, I skipped the butter with the Ritz and cheese mixture to pat on the loaf at the end. My loaf did not win any presentation points (didn't come out in perfect slices) but tasted great and that's what matters.

I don't think I've made a ground turkey dish this tasty and it works well for leftovers or to share with others.
Southwestern Turkey Meat Loaf 4 5 3 3

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