Meatloaf

[froufrou]

I love to smear ketchup with horseradish on top....YUM!

I've been thinking of meatloaf all week.

I've been thinking of making it a way I learned in cooking class in Italy last year but yet to do it.

They make their meat loaf with eggs and breadcrumbs and seasoning....wrap it in Italian meat and cook it on top, turning each side and letting it brown crispy....leave it on low.

If this sounds like anything you want to try...I still have the recipe, if intrested...

Gotta say it sliced up nice and was yummy .....but I do like my ketchup mixture that I use.

Cheers!

[mnebergall]

But how the hell do you make a good brown gravy to serve with meatloaf? (I thought about my beef demi glace then realized that I used my last mit in the onion confit.)

I am a serious fan of the Cooks Illustrated approach. I like AB's as well but I would really like to go the brown gravy route instead of the glaze. What am I missing?

Just use an envelope of Knorr Swiss brown gravey mix, or their green peppercorn sauce. That's what I always do. It's impossible to make brown gravey with what comes out of meatloaf. (or is it, I am of the belief that very little is impossible)

[Mabelline]

With regards to froufrou and fifi, smashed potatoes with horseradish mixed are SOOO good it's almost criminal. Knorr's gravy is good stuff. I want meatloaf so badly now, that I'm glad it's not a med day! Meatloaf for supper happy dance!!!

[Marco_Polo]

Boy, I'm sure in the meatloaf lover's camp, so thanks for restarting this great topic. Only problem is, my wife, who is English, hates the stuff!

There are very, very few things which one of the other of us don't like but the other adores; however, I'm afraid to say that meatloaf is one of them. It's a serious problem, I tell you! I mean, how can you hate something as simple, as comforting, as basic as meatload? This isn't some weird, esoteric food (and believe me, she's had to eat some pretty weird stuff with me, though she did draw the line, that time in Pusan, at the live baby octopus despatched expertly with a cleaver then served on a plate, especially when I had to hoik the tentacles off with my finger because the suckers were sticking to the roof of my mouth -- but that's another story...). As I was saying, how can anyone dislike meatloaf? What's to dislike?

For what it's worth, I make (on the rare occasions when I'm allowed to, that is, when my wife is out of the house or out of town) meatloaf just like my mother used to: ground beef and pork, chopped onion, carrots and celery, a slice or two of white bread soaked in milk, an egg, maybe two, lots of black pepper, salt, dash of Worcestershire sauce, dash of Kikkoman, think that's about it. The best bit, apart from the eating of course, is the squidgy noise that it makes as you work everything in together with your bare hands, the egg and the milky bread and the meat and seasonings and everything just squelching away. My mother used to squidge and squelch for ages, and I remember just watching her, almost hypnotised by it all.

Well hell, life is just too darn short to live sans meatloaf, isn't it? I'm going to rustle some up this weekend (and damn the domestic consequences). No gravy, just lots of ketchup, white rice, and salad. Hot meatloaf is good, hot meatloaf is even great: but as others have said, it absolutely sensational, even at its best, the next day, leftover to be used in a meatloaf sandwich.

Further reading about meatloaf tribulations.

MP

[Jinmyo]

I've some pork and lamb polpettoni with chiles, sage, onions, eggs, tomato passata, panko and paprika just out of the oven.

edit:

Edited April 2, 2004 by Jinmyo (log)

[Malawry]

OK, so I've made meatloaf for my girls twice now. I'm stuck with using the ground beef my supplier carries...I don't have time, energy or inclination to process down that much meat on my own. So we're talking a meat loaf made with a 5lb tube of 80/20 ground beef.

The first time I made it, I kinda winged it on proportions. Came up with a tasty meatloaf. A little dry, and it crumbled real easily, but it was tasty.

Today, I made it using the Joy of Cooking recipe scaled up for my quantities. Result: even tastier and quite juice, but it still crumbled into a pile of yummy meat when I tried to slice it.

Both times, I baked the loaf in extra-large Pullman pans I have about the kitchen, until they hit 160 degrees using a probe thermometer. I let the loaf cool both times, for at least 30 minutes. The first loaf I couldn't even get out of the pan in one piece, but the second loaf came out almost entirely.

What do I need to be doing differently here to get a meat loaf that comes out of the pan easily and slices cleanly? I would just bake it free-form, but the Pullman pans would make for easier portion control and more attractive slices.

[Toliver]

Would 20% fat be too low? I know that very lean beef makes hamburgers that crumble due to the lack of fat to help bind the meat. I think my dad always used hamburger with a higher percentage of fat to counteract the crumble.

[Malawry]

20% fat is about right for burgers, which is mostly what I use the beef for when I order it. (10% is considered lean, and it's hard to find ground beef with over 20% fat.)

[Jinmyo]

Rochelle (Malawry), I have no idea what Joy of Cooking says but I've got one word, dahlink: Bread crumbs.

Okay.

That's two words.

Panko.

[maggiethecat]

I would just bake it free-form, but the Pullman pans would make for easier portion control and more attractive slices.

I have always made my meatloaf freeform, and it has always kept its shape beautifully. A couple of weeks ago I decided to make four mini-loaves to stash away for lunches and such, and patted the mixture into, er, mini loaf pans.

They tasted swell (I gound a scraggy end of delightfully fatty pork butt and added it to the mix) but: it crumbled, just as you've described. I think free-form's the way to go.

( Marcella taught me that many moons ago.)

[Malawry]

Hmmmm. Both my improvisational meat loaf, and my Joy of Cooking meat loaf, used ample bread crumbs. (I wonder if Sysco carries panko in anything less than a 25lb sack?)

Maybe a free-form loaf is the way to go...since I can't slice the damn Pullman loaf anyway. I wondered if getting smaller loaf pans and baking many small loaves instead of one big one would help? (Not minis, but the standard 1lb bread pan.)

[Toliver]

Rochelle (Malawry), I have no idea what Joy of Cooking says but I've got one word, dahlink: Bread crumbs.

Okay.

That's two words.

Panko.

Of course, that could be it. My mom always used bread crumbs, too. She always said it was her budget stretcher since adding a filler like that meant you could get a bigger loaf.

She also made a freeform loaf in her 13x9 cake pan. She topped it with strips of bacon and slathered it with ketchup which turned into a glaze once cooked.

[NulloModo]

The best Meatloaf I have ever had was from a recipe I saw on Food Network with Mario.

Basically you take a veal/pork/beef meatloaf blend, and shape it out into a big flat rectangle on some parchment paper. You then toss some blanched spinach or escarole, some roasted red peppers, some prosciutto, and some good mozerella into the middle of the rectangle and fold it all over so that the meat seals up around the goodies inside. You then toss it into a skillet and fry it on all sides in EVOO, salt and pepper it (some other seasonings, basil and majoram possibly, go inside with the prosciutto), and let it rest a bit. When time to serve simply slice and enjoy all that gooey goodness seaping out onto each plate.

[sabg]

has anyone tried it with the foie gras in the middle? do you think i could use some kind of terrine? i would not need whole slices, would i? it just sound so good

[ElfWorks]

i know this post is kind of late in the game, but may i add that the best meatloaf recipe is, without a doubt, the one from cooks illustrated about 3 yrs ago. i tried every meatloaf recipe i came across in an attempt to duplicate my grandmothers and it wasnt til i got to this one, which was absolutely NOTHING LIKE GRANNY'S that i was satisfied. it is sooooo much better than hers. it is just tooooooo delicious.

xo

[snowangel]

I always do free-form meatloaf, and shape it into rounds because the kids think cake-like wedges are pretty cool. That, too, would work for portion control...

[Chufi]

Meatloaves are not very common over here (The Netherlands) but I like to make them and for guests it is always something unusual and interesting. I have made a lot of different ones: sometimes I use beef, sometimes beef and pork, or beef + pork + veal. Flavorings vary according to what's in the fridge (mushrooms, peppers, tomato, different herbs, bits of cheese, etc.), they were all good but none of them was great enough to become THE meatloaf recipe for me.

I would love to hear some of your favorite recipes.. what's the best way to make a delicious, juicy meatloaf?

[howard88]

Everyone has their own seasoning preference for meatloaf.

I use ground chuck and mix it with sauteed onions and garlic.

Eggs, the amount depends on the quantity of meat, s&p, and

grated parmesian reggiano. Sometimes I will add some oregano.

I do not use ketchup or tomato, nor bacon.

Now here comes the ingredient that makes the big differnce

for me.

David Rosengarten, food channel ex., uses without crust, fresh

white bread soaked in milk or water, instead of dried bread crumbs.

This makes an airy, light meat loaf and I love it.

So my input is, to your favorite recipe, simply use the fresh white

bread, if you lilke a light, airy result.

It is so damn good.

[sladeums]

On an earlier thread several people swore by the Cooks Illustrated recipe:

click here for Cooks Illustrated Best Meatloaf Recipe

click here for 'Meatloaf, Recipes, anyone?' thread

[judiu]

I usually use only beef in my meatloaf, and have found that it tends to get a bit dense. To alleviate this, I have used a can of drained waterchestnuts, blanched for about 30 seconds to ward off the dreaded "essence of tin-can", and chopped in a mini processor, not too fine. Adds lightness, and an interesting crunch. Works well in meatballs, too!

[rascal]

The Cook's Illustrated recipe sounds pretty similar to what I do. I also like to add some celery and jalapenos when sauteeing the onions and garlic. Loaf on a sheet and bacon wrapping are pretty key IMO.

[Jensen]

My favourite meatloaf recipe is from Epicurious. Click here for meatloaf heaven.

[Jaymes]

On an earlier thread several people swore by the Cooks Illustrated recipe:

click here for Cooks Illustrated Best Meatloaf Recipe

click here for 'Meatloaf, Recipes, anyone?' thread

←

And here's another earlier eGullet Meatloaf thread....

"Meatloaf - Talk to me"

Great ideas in all these threads.

[karen m]

I have always had a nice meatloaf using a combination of both pork and beef.

Bread ( day old ) soaked in milk. I also add applesauce.

The applesauce adds a nice sweetness with moisture.

Once I had corn tortillas I dried and ground, used that instead of bread crumbs.

This meatloaf I used jalapeno peppers and a little cumin and coriander. Turned out quite tasty.

[K8memphis]

Wull, I put a nice dollop of horseradish and prepared

mustard in my meatloaf with the usual meat and oats, milk and water, onions, salt & pepper. Yes that's correct - no egg - I like it without. I roughly kind of accordion crumble a piece of aluminum foil to set in the bottom of the pan so the loaf does not sit and cook in the water and juices. Then at the end I mix ketschup and brown sugar to spread on top for the last 10-15 mins of cooking.

I don't pack it real tight - but just enough to keep it together - serve with creamed potatoes - comfort food at it's finest.

I did not read every other post here - but you can stick a piece of sausage in the middle of the meatloaf for a great variation - shape the bottom half of the meatloaf mixture - lay a piece of like hot Italian sausage down the middle - I skin my sausage - put the other half of the meat mixture on top. Yum yum - stuffed meatloaf. You can really get creative with that idea of sticking something in the middle, cheese sticks or something like that y'know. Wonder what avocado would be like in there, pickles...heart of palm