Burgers/Meatloaf--Cook-Off 10

[Toliver]

I'm not a fan of meatloaf because I usually find it very dense.  (some would just say I'm dense).  I'd be interested in seeing the different texture and learning about this one.

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I am bumping this back up because I made meatloaf yesterday (sorry, no pictures) but had a slight problem with it (more about that down below).

As for density, I think it's your balance of ingredients that determines denseness. I posted about this on another discussion but I once was in the mood for meatloaf and thought I would eschew putting any "filler" such as bread crumbs in the mixture. I made sure I bought the best ground beef (with very little fat) and the finest ingredients but no filler.

The meatloaf turned out like a lead brick. The bread crumbs, which I always thought was just a "filler" or budget-stretcher (to make the meatloaf serve more people), actually help soften the texture of the meatloaf. Also, the expensive ground beef I had bought had very little fat in it and that made the meatloaf dry and crumbly. Like with hamburgers, sometimes the beef needs the fat found in cheaper ground beef to help give the burger better texture and binding.

My mom never used bread crumbs in her meatloaf recipe. Instead, she would take about four slices of stale bread and soak them in milk. After they softened, she would gently sqeeze out the milk and then shred the softened bread into the meatloaf mixture.

That being said, yesterday my meatloaf turned out pretty good with a bit of an exception. Before baking it I lined the top of the loaf with slices of raw bacon and then added ketchup on top of that as a sort of "glaze" (hey, it's a faimly recipe and it works for us ). As kids, we would fight for the bacon as a delicious "bonus".

Anyway, my meatloaf ended up with a sort of crust on the bottom which I've never encountered before and was curious if anyone had an opinion as to the cause of the crust.

I had lined a 13x9 non-stick dark pan (sort of like the ECKO brand pans that are dark grey) with foil (I know that's overkill, but it really helped in the cleanup) and shaped the mixture into a loaf shape down the center of the pan (it didn't fill the pan at all). The oven temp was 350°f and it was on a middle rack in the (electric) oven.

Does anyone have a guess as to what caused the crust? After reviewing my methods, I think the dark pan may have been the culprit.

I don't know how likely it would be be for the oven calibration could be off after 20 years of use, but who knows? An oven thermometer could settle that question.

edited for clarity

Edited January 30, 2006 by Toliver (log)

[snowangel]

Toliver:

Thanks for the report. Not everything is a success!

On the "crust." Did you put the pan directly on a pizza or baking stone? If so, that's probably the culprit. If not, I have no clue. What puzzles me is that I use the same type of loaf pan, lined with foil. Could the lack of fat had something to do with it?

I also prefer a meatloaf or meatballs made with a fattier cut of meat and some sort of "filler" to lighten things up. I also, when making meat loaf or meatballs, like to do what I learned to do when I first made "pearl balls" -- have the meat mixture pretty darned wet. It helps keep it light.

[Grub]

...

This burger recipe, Napa Valley Cabernet Burgers, is one of our favorites.  I'm glad I was reminded of it today, as I wanted to share the idea with you on this thread. 

...

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Oooh, I made this too. It's a great recipe, and both looks and tastes fantastic. But most impressive to me is perhaps how well it looks in photographs... I'm rarely happy with how my pictures look, but in this case it looks at least as good as it tasted. Excellent recipe.

[jackal10]

Meatloaf, but not as we know it.

Its actually the Mortadella recipe from Charcuterie, but with extra onion and without the fat cubes or pistachio,

The emulsified sausage recipe makes the best meatloaf I've had for a long time.

[billyhill]

I am suprised no one has used rice in their meatloaf. We wound up with an absurd amount of cooked basmati rice and the rice pudding couldn't make it all go away, so I mixed about 1 cup with 1.5 to 2lbs of meat, 2 eggs, parsley, grated onion and shallot, lee and perrins, mixed peppercorns, paprika, a little chili powder and season salt. A little dense but, the basmati lends an interesting flavor. I cook it in the oven on a broiling pan. Top it with a mixture of ketchup and Lee and Perrins +/- other herbs and spices. Not too bad.

[snowangel]

It is spring. It was a beautiful day. Sunny and 34 degrees (F), which made me think of the outdoors. Let's add that I have had a hankering for a burger. Further add that when we went out for dinner with Diana's volleyball team on Saturday, I ordered a burger and was served a pre-formed patty that was tough and dry. (reminder to self: if I want a good burger, do it myself, unless I have a craving for sliders.)

When I was at the market on Sunday, I had the butcher grind up a nice piece of chuck for me.

Topped with lettuce (I forgot to have my assistant hold some whole leaves while she was making salad), paper thin onion slices, blue cheese. My kids are now converts to burgers topped with blue cheese. The burger was so juicy that the bun almost dissolved. The only things that would have made this more perfect would have been a slice of a homegrown tomato and wearing shorts and a tank top.

[kutsu]

Anyone tell me what the cut "chuck" is, in England?

I've ground my first ever beef tonight, a brisket, and it made a nice, but not fantastic burger. Lacked a beefy taste really.

Any advice?

[Daniel]

I had to add these mini burgers to the list. These things were great...

Bone Marrow with red currant and blue cheese..

green chile cheese

little foie with red currant sauce..

Buffalo Bacon:

[Grub]

Anyone tell me what the cut "chuck" is, in England?

I've ground my first ever beef tonight, a brisket, and it made a nice, but not fantastic burger. Lacked a beefy taste really.

Any advice?

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From this Wikipedia article, and also according to this one, it basically is the shoulder cut. I don't know what the British term is, but that should help identify it with a proper butcher, or a reasonably knowledgeable supermarket butcher.

[TongoRad]

Daniel- your quest for the perfect green chile cheeseburger came to mind last weekend as I was harvesting these babies from the garden. I wound up roasting them and putting the flesh (whole, not chopped up) on some 6 oz. 80% chuck burgers. The cheese I used was yer averidge mozzarella so as not to compete with the flavor of the peppers, and everything else was pretty minimal (just a little schmear of butter on the bun). The best part was that these chiles were hot- and I've already got a bunch more in the freezer. I'm thinking of stepping up to a thick slice of buffalo mozzarella next time- it goes so well with roasted red peppers of any type.

[Daniel]

Nice.. I shouldnt have chopped mine.. My co-worker is just about to pick her Annaheims.. I am hoping they will have more heat then last time.. But something tells me I will be ordering that huge package from NM. Mozzarella is a good cheese to use.. Also Monteray isnt too strong..

Edited August 23, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[kutsu]

Anyone tell me what the cut "chuck" is, in England?

I've ground my first ever beef tonight, a brisket, and it made a nice, but not fantastic burger. Lacked a beefy taste really.

Any advice?

←

From this Wikipedia article, and also according to this one, it basically is the shoulder cut. I don't know what the British term is, but that should help identify it with a proper butcher, or a reasonably knowledgeable supermarket butcher.

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Brilliant, this will go a long way to helping me I think.

Thanks

[TongoRad]

Nice.. I shouldnt have chopped mine.. My co-worker is just about to pick her Annaheims.. I am hoping they will have more heat then last time.. But something tells me I will be ordering that huge package from NM. Mozzarella is a good cheese to use.. Also Monteray isnt too strong..

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She may not be growing the hot type, which isn't such a bad thing. When I used to order from NM I always got half of a box mild/ half hot. The milds have a much thicker wall so that you could leave them whole and make rellenos, and they're flavorful as hell. If you're ordering you should look into going half/half- use the hots for the burgers and the milds for other applications.

[007bond-jb]

Italian meatloaf Cajun style

Edited November 1, 2006 by 007bond-jb (log)

[Cleo]

I love meatloaf! I've never made meatloaf with turkey before, but I've been wanting to try this Barefoot Contessa Turkey Meatloaf for a while. My in-laws are coming over for dinner on Sunday, so I figure that I'll give it a try.

I'm also going to make the Parmesan Smashed Potatoes with it.

Any suggestion for a vegetable to go with it? I see that Ina made brussels sprouts, but since I eat roasted brussels sprouts all the time, I'd like to make something else. Should I just make a salad? Or another vegetable?

One more question as an aside...the recipe for the potatoes says to use a mixer with a paddle attachment. I don't have a stand mixer. Can I use a regular hand mixer? Or a food processor?

[Dana]

You must be very, very, very, very careful about whipping potatoes with a mixer. You can easily end up with glue. Your hand mixer will work if you use low speed for a short time. If you're not an old hand at mashed potatoes, I'd just use a hand masher.

I see the recipe calls for red potatoes, which are less starchy, and a point in your favor. Frankly, I like a little texture in my potatoes, so I use the hand masher.

[Cleo]

Thanks! I've never made real mashed potatoes before, because I've always been scared of ruining them. I'll stick to the hand masher.

[snowangel]

Burger question. On our way up north to the cabin, we often stop at Gordy's for a great burger.

Now, I often make burgers on the trusty old Weber. They are thick and wonderful.

The burgers at Gordy's are thinner and griddled. How do I get a thin burger? Something akin to the burgers here.

[Anna N]

 I am reviving this topic only because I don’t know where else to post!

 

 I have had in my mind for sometime that I wanted to make meatloaf. I have made them in the past but it must be close to 40 years ago. 

 

I have a hungry son-in-law and a hungry bachelor son so I knew if I made one there would be a home for it. 

 

 

 There is nothing particularly special about my recipe or my meatloaf.  The only thing I will mention that might be a little different from what everybody else has done is a trick I read here.  It is to grate the onions into Panko to create the panade. 

 

 I am quite pleased with this but as with all things there is room for improvement. I will wait for some feedback from my guinea pigs (or any eG members who think they have THE RECIPE) and then I may attempt another one. 

 

I know @rotuts is a huge fan of turkey meatloaf but that would never pass muster in my family. 

 

I see a lot of meat loaf being made and enjoyed on eG and I was especially taken by meatloaf sandwiches.  Now that I have never tried. 

 

 If you’re a fan of meatloaf why not join in here and share your enthusiasm. 

 

 

[gfweb]

I have a very nice meatloaf recipe.

 

3/4 beef, 1/4 pork....1 cup of diced andouille sausage mixed in ...  3/4 cup fine diced onions, Panade (garlic powder, worcestershire, 1/2 cup milk,  1/2 cup dry  bread crumbs, 1 egg, salt and pepper).   I make the panade and let it sit for 5 min or so to absorb the liquid and then work it into the meat. 375F for 45 min or so

Let rest for 30' under foil and a towel to firm up.

 

Slice to serve and top the slices with Major Grey's Chutney from Crosse and Blackwell.

 

It is really delicious.

[Anna N]

3 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

It is really delicious

 Love the idea of the chutney.  I also think that I would like the addition of some pork but I have some dyed in the wool traditionalists to please who might not take too readily to that idea. 

 

[gfweb]

21 minutes ago, Anna N said:

  I also think that I would like the addition of some pork but I have some dyed in the wool traditionalists to please who might not take too readily to that idea. 

 

 

They won't know. It really does taste better.

You could call it "unseasoned breakfast sausage"

[Shelby]

This is a very timely bump for this topic.  Ronnie ground up a country ham steak or two the other day.  I'm supposed to make him some ham salad out of it....and I will, but I want to use some of it to make a meatloaf.  I've laid out some venison burger.  I know that ham is salty and a bit dry so I'll make adjustments to the panade (why doesn't my spell check recognize "panade"--am I spelling it wrong?)

[lindag]

Your spelling is correct, it's just not in the M-W dictionary because it's French.

[rotuts]

@Anna N

 

that's a fine effort.

 

My TML  does not taste like turkey at all.

 

I only use that as im much better at seasoning poultry that beef.

 

did you use the CSO ?   its very helpful w ML's

 

no matter what you put in the ML , it should feel moist but firm when you shape it.

 

w beef , add what you think will taste good in the end.

 

you can use a trick I saw JuliaChild use a long long time ago when making Pate

 

a european ML

 

take a bit of the meat mixture and fry it gently until just done and taste it.

 

that's a good preview.    consider adding bacon finely chopped up to beef meatloaf.

 

I love bacon on the top , but a lot of people use Ketchup for Beef ML

 

just cook it until firm .  the CSO is very help flu on steam baking for ML.

 

my panade is rolled oatmeal  ( uncooked )  not quick-cook   ground fine in a blade coffee grinder

 

then milk is added to make a paste.

 

consider some dijon mustard in your loaf and a beaten egg or two.

 

Im your ML will be devoured 

 

always make more for the sandwiches the next day , which are superb.

 

I also don't put vegetables in ML.

 

just make sure yours a very finely chopped and get cooked through.

 

onion flavor would be Penzey's granulated onion  toasted or not.

 

Im guessing that the time it takes to cook the veg is too long for cooking the meat.

 

so that it does not dry out.

 

140 is a good temp to pull the ML out of the CSO, and let it sit sl covered.

 

you don't get Jus out of a ML ,  you just want it to firm up a bit before you cut it

Edited March 16, 2018 by rotuts (log)