Ingredients

2tbspolive oil

1medium red or yellow onion,roughly chopped

1medium carrot,roughly chopped

1stalk celery,roughly chopped

¼red bell pepper,roughly chopped

3clovesgarlic

2lbsground beef,(90/10 blend)

1tbspWorcestershire sauce

2large eggs

1cupbreadcrumbs

¼cupfresh parsley,minced

2tspsalt

1cupbbq sauce,homemade or store bought

¼cupbourbon

1tbspbrown sugar

1tbsphoney

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add chopped onion, carrot, celery, red pepper, and garlic to a food processor and pulse until minced. Transfer the veggies to a large skillet with olive oil.

Cook over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes until veggies are soft and most of the liquid has cooked out of them.

Let veggies cool briefly before combining with meatloaf ingredients. The cooler the mixture, the easier it will be to handle. Plus, if it’s too hot, it might cook the eggs.

Add the cooked vegetables to a large bowl with all the other meatloaf ingredients and mix well with hands. Then press the mixture in a 9×5-inch loaf pan.

Bake the meatloaf: Bake the meatloaf at 350 degrees F for 60 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees F.

Add glaze ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until the mixture forms big bubbles and is thick enough to coat the back of a spatula or spoon. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Glaze the meatloaf: When the meatloaf has about five minutes left of baking, add ¼ cup of glaze to the top of the meatloaf and let it finish cooking.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then unmold and serve (or serve from the pan). Serve the rest of the glaze on the side for people to drizzle onto their slices.

Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for a few days. If freezing this meatloaf, slice and freeze individually wrapped slices, rather than freezing the entire loaf which will be difficult to defrost later.

Reheat slices in a medium-heat skillet with a drizzle of oil for 4 to 5 minutes until warmed through.