The Smoky Meatloaf Experiment

Inspired by an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Made" on Food Network, I decided to try making my next meatloaf a "smoky" one, based on some ingredients in the TV recipe. The main secret ingredient was going to be barbecued potato chips in place of bread crumbs. It also has some smoky heat to it from the chipotle peppers in adobo.

Now that we've had the first loaf, my impression is this: It turned out about as good as I thought, maybe even better than I expected, but you know what? My regular meatloaf is so good I doubt I will try doing this again. Bottom line: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If you're looking for something different and want to try it, there is nothing wrong with this recipe. Next time I make 'Big Mike's Classic Meatloaf', I'll post the recipe here for that.

Ingredients
2/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 ounces chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped fine
6 ounces barbecue potato chips
3 cloves garlic
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground sirloin
1 pound ground pork
2 large eggs

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the ketchup, tomato paste and chipotle peppers in a large mixing bowl. Remove 1/3 cup of the mixture and set aside.

3. Crush the potato chips in a freezer baggie until they are a coarse breadcrumb consistency. Transfer the potato chips to the bowl with the ketchup mixture.

4. Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch cast-iron pan set over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion mixture, sage and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables soften and begin to brown slightly, approximately 5 minutes. Add the mixture to the mixing bowl with the potato chip mixture and stir to combine and cool the vegetables slightly.

5. Add the ground sirloin, pork and eggs and use your hands to thoroughly combine.

6. Form into 2 small 1lb. loaf pans. Bake at 350 for one hour. At about 45 minutes brush the remaining wet sauce on the top of the loaves and return to baking.

7. Remove and let rest at least ten minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve with mashed potatoes and peas or greens.

The original inspiration is a much more complicated recipe available here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/smoked-party-meatloaf-recipe.html?oc=linkback