The Best Old Fashioned Meatloaf Recipe You Will Eat (2024)

FAQs

What is traditional meatloaf made of? ›

No bells and whistles - just a few ingredients including beef, egg, bread crumbs and a simple tomato-based topping. Use a gentle touch with ground beef. Over-mixing will result in burgers, meatballs or meatloaves with a firm texture.

The Basic Meatloaf Formula

All recipes for meatloaf start with the same basic formula: 2 pounds of ground meat and a “panade” made of bread or crackers soaked in milk. Along with a few eggs, this panade helps to hold the ground meat together and adds some essential moisture to the mix.

To help your meatloaf stay together add things such as eggs, bread, crushed croutons, oatmeal, crackers, and breadcrumbs, these are all key ingredients that help meat stick together. I hope that this helps to answer your question. What are the secrets to a firm, sliceable meatloaf that slices and won't fall apart?

Milk and other dairy products, like heavy cream and buttermilk, contain both water and fat, adding two types of moisture to our meatloaf. There's a long-held theory that milk can tenderize ground meat, and this is the reason often cited for cooking ground meat in milk to make a Bolognese-style ragù.

Not only does sheet pan meatloaf bake up faster than its traditional loaf-shaped cousin, it also has more surface area, meaning every bite is laden with that deliciously caramelized topping.

Every meatloaf recipe requires a binder, otherwise, you don't get the same moisture retention and tenderness when you cook it. Most recipes require bread crumbs soaked in moisture as the binder to improve the quality of your meatloaf, but there are plenty of other options.

The oven temperature is typically set at 350 degrees F for making meatloaf. That's the temperature you want to be sure to use so the meatloaf cooks and doesn't dry out. Too high, and the outer crust will burn before the interior is cooked all the way, too low and you don't get that delicious crust.

Should I cook my meatloaf covered or uncovered? The meatloaf can be cooked uncovered. However, if you are concerned about it burning, you can cover the meatloaf with foil for the first 45 minutes and uncover it for the final 15 minutes to allow the meatloaf to brown on top.

Adding baking soda to the beef keeps it moist by stopping the proteins from binding too quickly (which dries out the meat). Using sauteed onions instead of raw ensures the onions don't turn out crunchy and adds extra moisture to the meatloaf. Moistened breadcrumbs, keep the meatloaf moist and tender.

What should the inside of a meatloaf be? ›

Meatloaf Internal Temperature

This helpful kitchen tool takes all the guesswork out of knowing when meatloaf is done. Cook meatloaf until it registers 165°F when the thermometer is inserted into the center of the loaf.

Cool before slicing: Let the loaf cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. If you baked your meatloaf in a loaf pan, carefully drain off the liquid fat before transferring the meatloaf to a cutting board. Cut into thick slices and serve.

A neat trick to soak up the grease under your meatloaf is to line the bottom of the pan with bread slices. The bread soaks up the grease as the loaf bakes. When the meatloaf is done, you can either throw out the bread or bake it to make some truly indulgent toast.

Use Extra Egg: Eggs act as binders and provide moisture. Add one or two eggs per pound of meat for a moist texture. Make Use of Milk: Soak breadcrumbs in milk before adding them to your mixture. This will keep your meatloaf moist during baking.

Use Extra Egg: Eggs act as binders and provide moisture. Add one or two eggs per pound of meat for a moist texture. Make Use of Milk: Soak breadcrumbs in milk before adding them to your mixture. This will keep your meatloaf moist during baking.

Mixing your ingredients too much is a very common mistake that can really make for meatloaf with a tough, dry texture. Self-control is the key; once the ingredients are mixed in, stop. Remember, the meatloaf is going to be mixed more as it's shaped before baking. When shaping your loaf, looser is better.

For an average meat loaf, use 1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh, soft bread crumbs to every pound of meat. When using fine, dry crumbs, use half as much. Other Ingredients: Eggs bind the mixture, add flavor and increase browning, but too much egg will make a meat loaf tough and rubbery.