Can anyone tell me how to make a decent meatloaf?

17 years of marriage and I still can't make one. After tonights attempt
my husband suggested that perhaps I should stop trying. I'm giving it one more try, so help me out here.....

(Why do I DO this?)

If you tell me how you make meatloaf, I might be able to figure out where you're going wrong.

What do you do and how does it turn out?

condensed soup, onions, celery, cheese, egg, garlic in various combinations and they just turn out kind of blah. No flavor. The texture is okay-it's "meatloafy" but no matter what recipe I try they just don't seem to have much flavor.

Does it seem slimy or mushy when you're done?

Egg is added to the meatloaf to bind it together. You might try crushed cheese crackers for additional flavor. With onions, chop them very finely; it will help keep the meatloaf tender.

What kind of flavor do you like? You could try crushed red pepper flakes; oregano, marjoram, and/or basil; shredded carrot; cracked peppercorns; chili powder or cumin; lemon pepper; or even shredded cheese. I know someone who makes a "stuffed" meatloaf with shredded mozarella cheese. I'll see if I can get the recipe from her.

I like meatloaf topped with the ketchup/brown sugar combination, but my husband doesn't like that. My husband's favorite? The meatloaf I make with dill weed. I was trying to be creative one night, and I happened to put some dill weed into the mixture, and he loved it.

Chives would also be good.

I bake it at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes or so; I'm not sure I ever make it exactly the same way twice, and my time is approximate. "Until done" is pretty much it. :)

It never seems burnt or dry just blah.Usually I'm a pretty good cook it's just this meatloaf thing.
My aunt used to make really good meatloaf when I was a kid. In fact, it was about the only meatloaf I'd eat. But she passed away and I barely remember it. I think it had something green in it.

is to flavor it like the filling of a tourtiere (meatpies from Quebec.) In those, the distinguishing flavors are a 50/50 mix of ground pork and ground beef, seasoned with onion, ground cloves, and cinnamon. Beyond that, recipes for them vary wildly. So if you tweak a recipe you have for meatloaf to incorporate these elements, you'll have something yummy.

Combination of beef and pork.

Lots of decent bread (about 1 part bread, by volume, to 2 parts meat), like a fresh Italian loaf.

1 small onion for each pound of meat, 1 large onion for two pounds.

A healthy dose of parsley.

Cook until done.



on edit: If the bread is stale (ideal meatloaf is made from leftover bread), soak it in milk.

Need more seasonings. :)

It goes without saying.

Some garlic would be nice, too.

Tomatoey stuff depends upon your personal taste.

It's delicious! For the meatballs I use one pound of ground pork to three pounds of ground beef, extremely finely chopped onion, salt, and pepper. No egg or bread crumbs. I brown them on the stove top, then put them in a Dutch oven, deglaze the frying pan, and add the drippings to the Dutch oven. I put them into a 300-degree oven and let them bake slowly. Delicious! We serve them with ham and twice baked potatoes for Christmas Eve dinner. My mother has been making them for 47 years.

http://www.allrecipes.com

You can find recipes for just about any dish or ingredient, and each one has been rated and reviewed.

2lb ground beef as lean as possible
2 eggs
1 cup of milk-whole
1 cup of bread crumbs
1 small yellow onion finely minced
1 tsp of garlic minced-fresh
1 cup catsup
1/2 brown sugar
1 tsp dried mustard0must be dry in powder form
1 tsp salt-i use kosher but use whatever kind you have
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup parsley-fresh, if not leave it out

Preheat oven to 350
mix all ingredients together except catsup, brown sugar and mustard. Put into a loaf pan 8 inch or 9 inch. mix remaining ingredients together and spread on top of the meat loaf, cover meatloaf with foil and put it into the oven and cook for appox 40 minutes, after that remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

is this an Ohio recipe?

We are from the Boston area not Ohio and imo it's wicked pissa!

is pretty close to this one, but i always use a pack of McCormicks
Meatloaf seasoning....i think it gives it a wonderful taste.

6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and broken
3 whole cloves garlic
1/2 red bell pepper
18 ounces ground chuck
18 ounces ground sirloin
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg

For the glaze:
1/2 cup catsup
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon honey

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a food processor bowl, combine croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, and ground chuck with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.

Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray. Insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe. Set the probe for 155 degrees.

Combine the catsup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes.

www.foodtv.com

My sister makes the Ida Garten(Barefoot Contessa) recipe. It's not available on the website but there are plenty of other meatloaf recipes by well known chefs.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/

to see if it's worth it to you.

about 2 lbs of ground meat (I use ground turkey nowadays, but beef was the original meat)

2 eggs
some oregano (about 1/2 teaspoon)
chopped or diced onions (I don't like them too big in it)
a small can of tomato sauce
salt and pepper (I use more pepper than salt)
some bacon strips (I don't use them, but most people do)
bread crumbs (approx. 1/2 cup)
other Italian seasoning

Mix meat, eggs, about 1/2 of the bread crumbs and seasonings in a bowl. Add the onions and knead with your hands to get everything mixed well.

Prepare a loaf pan with either Pam or other cooking spray, or, if you prefer a lot more cholesterol, use butter.

Put mixture into loaf pan. With a finger, put holes down the middle of the meat, and pour some tomato sauce into the holes. Once the holes are filled, add the rest on top, and then put the bacon strips across the top. Add the remainder of the bread crumbs on top, and bake for approximately 45 minutes until the bread crumbs are browned at about 350 degrees. Test the meatloaf insides by cutting a small slice off the end, to check on whether it's done or not. You should make sure that the middle of the end pieces are well done, because the middle of the loaf will be less well done. If it's not well done yet, plop it back into the over and cook for 10 minutes at a time and check for redness in center.

That's pretty much it. It takes wonderful. You can also shape it into balls and make meatballs from the same mixture. With meatballs, I add a little more oregano and basil, pan-fry them to give them a browned surface, and then plop them into an oven until well-done inside. About 30 minutes, 350 degrees.

There is no such thing as a decent meatloaf.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_10215,00.html

I ad-lib his recipe.. The key is turning the formed loaf out onto parchment. Cooking meatloaf in a loaf pan is a no-no.

Overcooked? Crumbly?

No zip. Just hamburgery. Sometimes it's mealy. Sometimes it's mushy. Sometimes it's soggy or sloppy but it's ALWAYS blah.

All the recipe's that people have suggested look fine. If you know the basics. Many people do not. Here's a couple of things I'd like to suggest.

When you put together your meatloaf, make sure that you remove any items from the fridge at least 30 minutes before using them. Things bake better when everything is warmed up to room temp.

If you put diced onions or green peppers in it, brown them up a little first, but not too much. Just toss them in a skillet with some olive oil and S&P for a couple of minutes. Then let them cool a bit before combining.

Also...my secret spice for meatloaf? Allspice.

I might try that. Sounds like it would taste like Swedish meatballs.

wow. who knew? :shrug:

a great cook, but you are right, I still can't make a decent meat loaf!!Why, I think it is all in the seasoning, you cannot test raw meat, so you have to have exact measurements, which good cooks are not used to. So great question, I hope we get something good!!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem. I'm a pretty good cook myself, but for some reason I can't seem to master meatloaf.:banghead:

...take a small amount of your seasoned meat mix and fry it out to test the seasoning before you commit your meat loaf to the oven.

I don't. I shape it and bake it on a rimmed sheet pan. Covering the loaf with bacon strips helps, too. :)

I can't give you a proper recipe, 'cause everytime I make meatloaf I do something different to it, but many of the recipes given here have merit.

Don't give up...and try a beef/pork/veal mixture rather than just plain beef, or even beef and pork alone. (Although beef and Italian sausage meat makes a nice Italian loaf.)

:)

Good luck next time!

I add a couple different kinds of cheese in the middle of it, I use egg and crackers or oatmeal(depending on what I have around) and sometimes I also add salsa and chopped green chilis. Garlic, of course and salt and pepper. Maybe some chili powder, usually tomato sauce and maybe some plain old ketchup on top w/ grated parmesan.

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Bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper, horseradish, worcestershire sauce, onion, green pepper, apple sauce. once it's in the pan, glaze top with ketchup.

pound of meat
one egg
dry onion soup mix
breadcrumbs

It's like smothered steak or quiche. Not ev ery meal needs to taste like it came from Morocco.

I use 1 and 1/2 eggs for every pound of ground beef, with 2-4 slices of toasted bread for every pound of meat, depending on fat content. Seasonings are salt and pepper.

Even with 93% lean, I drain the fat halfway through (cooking on LOW 300-325 no matter what), and cook the second hald smothered in ketchup. Depending upon how energetic I feel, I may sautee onions and add at serving time.

You need 2 lb hamburger, 1 cup bread crumbs, some Italian seasoning and some garlic salt.

You also need 1 onion, a can of mushrooms and two big cans of tomato sauce.

First, put the bread crumbs back in the container and stick it back in the cupboard. Throw the onion, garlic salt, and hamburger in a frying pan and cook until the onions are transparent and the meat is brown. Drain in a colander.

Next, put everything in a big pot and simmer it for about an hour.

Finally, boil up some pasta and serve what's in the big pot over the pasta.

This dish is called "George W. Bush's Justification for War Meatloaf." The notion that this spaghetti sauce is meatloaf is as fallacious as Bush's claim that there were WMDs in Iraq. However, if all the members of the Bush administration claim there were WMDs in Iraq long enough, eventually some people will believe there were WMDs there. Just like if you call spaghetti sauce meatloaf enough times, someone will eventually believe it's really meatloaf.

Or maybe they won't. Who cares. Wouldn't you rather eat spaghetti than meatloaf?

so here you go!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_10215,00.html

take your ground beef, completely thawed. mix in about 1tbl spoon of regular mustard, 1tbl spoon of spicy mustard (Gouldens, Grey Pupon, etc.), 1tbl spoon of ketchup, 1tbl spoon of bbq sauce (any type, to your liking) and shake in some hot sauce. 1 egg, 1 piece of bread, crumbled. 1 clove of garlic, 1/3 of onion, finely chopped, 1 can of mild green chili's. Mix with hands well and sprinkle in salt if you like. Form into loaf and put into glass baking dish and cook in oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Comes out yummy!!!

GEP

:bounce:

my recipe

1 lb burger
1/2 lb sausage
1 egg
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
chopped fine, onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, and shred a carrot in there too

some salt, pepper, basil, and some dry onion soup mix

add bread crumbs as needed til load holds it's shape

bake at 350 til done (an hour or so, I use a meat thermometer)

in the last 15 minutes, cover the top with ketchup for a glaze