Serves 6 to 8 Both ground sirloin and ground chuck work well here, but avoid ground round—it is gristly and bland. INGREDIENTS Glaze 1cup ketchup 1/4cup packed brown sugar 2 1/2tablespoons cider vinegar 1/2teaspoon hot sauce Meatloaf 2teaspoons vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped fine 2 garlic cloves, minced 2/3cup Saltine crackers, crushed (about 17 crackers) 1/3cup whole milk 1pound 90-percent lean ground beef (see note) 1pound ground pork 2large eggs plus 1 large yolk 2teaspoons Dijon mustard 2teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1/2teaspoon dried thyme 1/3cup finely chopped fresh parsley Salt and pepper INSTRUCTIONS 1. MAKE GLAZE Whisk all ingredients in saucepan until sugar dissolves. Reserve ? cup glaze mixture, then simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm. 2. COOK VEGETABLES Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook onion until golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to large bowl. 3. PROCESS MEAT Process saltines and milk in food processor until smooth. Add beef and pork and pulse until well combined, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer meat mixture to bowl with cooled onion mixture. Add eggs and yolk, mustard, Worcestershire, thyme, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and ? teaspoon pepper to bowl and mix with hands until combined. 4. BROIL Adjust oven racks to upper (about 4 inches away from broiler element) and middle positions and heat broiler. Transfer meat mixture to prepared baking sheet and shape into 9- by 5-inch loaf. Broil on upper rack until well browned, about 5 minutes. Brush 2 tablespoons uncooked glaze over top and sides of loaf and then return to oven and broil until glaze begins to brown, about 2 minutes. 5. BAKE Transfer meatloaf to middle rack and brush with remaining uncooked glaze. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until meat loaf registers 160 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes. Slice and serve, passing cooked glaze at table.

Before brining the chicken, I loosened the skin from the meat. In the process, I tore the skin. As I've discovered, that can lead to VERY dry breast meat, so I used a wooden skewer to "stitch up" the skin. Just like when I roast chickens in the oven, I made a mixture of melted butter, finely chopped garlic and fresh herbs. I rubbed this mixture on the meat (under the skin) as well as on the skin. Then I put some coarse sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and a bit of cayenne pepper on the skin. (Since the kids won't eat the skin, I can kick it up a bit...) Then I stuffed the cavity with a quartered onion, a lemon cut in half and a handful of sage (of which I have a massive amount crowding out everything else in my herb garden). I then tied the legs together and popped it on the smoker. Delicious! If I remember correctly, I was in a smoking mood on this particular day. I started with a whole sirloin tip roast. When that was done, I threw in a chicken and stuffed pork loin (kinda visible below the chicken). We had the chicken that night, the pork the next night and the beef the following night...