Meatloaf: How do YOU do it??

Meatloaf is that great comfort food...too often when I see it on the menu,however,I pass it up, for something more special. I therefore live on our own meatloaf. I don't use a recipe,nor does my wife...we simply put in the ingredients we always have...I, remembering what my mom did...Sometimes worchester sauce and ketchup and mustard in with the spices and egg...sometimes some salsa for moisture..sometimes some leftover beef gravy...Sometimes I love the result..sometimes I have to drown it in ketchup!!!
I'm looking for a great meatloaf idea...Any out there? What is your favorite meatloaf.special ingredients..special spices..Can you share some ideas!!

Ground chuck, a couple of eggs, small diced onion and bell pepper, tomato sauce, ITALIAN bread crumbs, s&p. Some saute the onions and bell peppers a bit, I don't. Mix well, form into a loaf, make a littlte "canal" down the top of the loaf, pour some of your left over tomato sauce down the middle, garnish with bell pepper rings and bake.

Here's my recipe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NHotorNJRc

I agree Rusty...Italian bread crumbs..use them too
and 007bond-jb...thanks...you need a cooking show..learned and laughed,thanks

Not a meatloaf lover, but family is, just tried this new recipe a couple weeks ago and I can't wait to make it again! soak 3 slices white bread with 1/3 cup milk. Combine 1 1/2 lbs ground chuck, 1/2lb ground pork, 1/2 grated medium onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 egg, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Add bread/milk mix gently. Form into loaf on baking sheet, lay 8 slices bacon over top and tuck ends underneath. Bake at 400 for 45-55 mins, and let sit 10 mins before slicing. You can skip bacon and brush with ketchup twice during baking if prefer.

Yeah, we do the bacon slices often too!My mom used to use soaked white bread...haven't tried that in years..thanks for the idea!

Along with peppers and onion a little chopped celery sauted in is nice. (The cajun holy trinity)

We eat a lot of meatloaf! It's cheap, comforting, filling and fast! I know it takes a while to cook, but I usually can get one in the oven in under 15 minutes and I have an hour to do other things. My meatloaf never comes out tasting or looking the same and I am still perfecting the consistency of my meatloaf. Sometimes it's soupy and somtimes its dry. I've gotten a lot better! I'm always coming up with new meatloaf ideas.

Ground meat(beef, turkey or meatloaf mix, whichever is on sale)

egg

Splash of milk

Binder(crackers, bread crumbs, fresh bread, cereal, whatever I have on hand)

Salt and pepper

Onion powder (like onion flavor, just not raw pieces of onion)If I have onion soup mix on hand, I'll use that. I usually crush up the onion pieces with a rolling pin

Garlic powder

Worcestershire sauce

Steak sauce

That's the basic mix. I mix the binder, egg, seasonings and milk together and let it sit for a few minutes before I add the meat, so the binder soaks the liquid up. I add in other things to change the flavor and top with different things.

If I add in taco seasoning and salsa, then I top it with salsa. When I serve it I top it with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

Add in dry ranch dressing mix and BBQ sauce then wrap the meatloaf with bacon and glaze it with BBQ sauce. Sometimes I'll add in some canned french fried onions.

Add in teriyaki sauce then top it with a mixture of ketchup, soy sauce and brown sugar

Add in ketchup, onion soup mix and top with a can of cream of mushroom soup. Makes a great gravy! Mashed Potatoes as a side are a must with this one!

Add in tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese then top it with tomato sauce and tons of mozzerla cheese. It's like a huge meatball parmagiana but faster to make for me because I don't have to roll out individual meatballs.

Try grating the onion on a big box grater vs. mincing - you won't notice any onion "chunks", just great onion flavor.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty246

Ground chuck, a couple of eggs, small diced onion and bell pepper, tomato sauce, ITALIAN bread crumbs, s&p. Some saute the onions and bell peppers a bit, I don't. Mix well, form into a loaf, make a littlte "canal" down the top of the loaf....

Exactly like the above, just sub Quaker oats for the breadcrumbs and drizzle ketchup over the top.

We had meatloaf last night. We always get a large tray of Costco ground beef to make a giant pot of sunday Gravy and meatballs..enough to freeze and last a few more sundays. Well... had enough meat left over to make a monday meatloaf. This time I put in some of sunday's finished tomato sauce. Never did that before...used canned Delmonte once or twice, and ketchup, but never Italian sauce. Well,I added Italian seasonings and chopped garlic, and made an Italian meatloaf...It was great...a little Italian sauce,instead of ketchup...and hell,it was like a giant Meatball(loaf??).Great!

If I use ground turkey, I add half cup of worcestershire to it. Tastes great.

TAtwod- I grate onions when I have them. Which isn't often because we really don't like onions that much. But, I do love french onion soup, canned french fried onions and onion rings(some, not all). Yeah, I know I'm weird! I sometimes have frozen chopped onions in the freezer that I put in the little food processer and pulverize it. I don't do it that often because it's such a pain to clean. I mostly do that when we have company over.

Still using the recipe I got off the box off cornflakes about 15 years ago - Sweet and Hot Meatloaf:

2 lbs ground meat - beef, or turkey or meatloaf mix
1 cup crushed cornflakes
1 onion, diced and sauteed
2 eggs
3 TBLs (or to taste) horseradish
2/3 can cream of tomato soup

Mix well
Put in loaf pan or cake pan
Add 1/2 cup brown sugar to remaining 1/3 can cream of tomato soup, mix well and our over top of meat. Bake, depending on pan, 45 - 60 minutes

Not very nutritions, but really tasty!

I sweat some onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. Let them cool and add to meat mix of egg oatmeal and breadcrumbs and water. I use ground turkey or chicken. For sauce sometimes I use Franks buffalo wing sauce. Mostly I prefer the loaf unsauced.

Yep, I've done meatloaf. Here is my recipe with photos of course.

http://www.roadfood.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18906

Ground Chuck
Chopped onions
chopped mushrooms
minced garlic
Cracker Crumbs
Ketchup
Egg
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne

mix by hand, form into tight loaf, bake

CajunKing,
Mushrooms sound like a great idea. Never did that. Will try next time. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by leethebard

CajunKing,
Mushrooms sound like a great idea. Never did that. Will try next time. Thanks!

You want and saute them first, then add them tothe mix,if not they will give off all their moisture into the meatloaf and it will be watery

I can't really give exact measurements for some of the ingredients, because I always tend to improvise to some extent when making meatloaf, but here goes:

2 lb. of ground turkey
2 eggs
4 heels of whole wheat bread or oatmeal bread
2 cloves of garlic
1 small carrot, cut into 4 or 5 pieces
1/2 onion, sauteed in olive oil
Worcestershire Sauce
Ketchup
Prepared Horseradish
Sea Salt
Freshly ground pepper

First sautee the onion. When it has been lightly browned, put it and the bread, garlic, and carrot into a Cuisinart and process until everything has been chopped rather finely. Combine the chopped ingredients with everything else and mix well by hand. Coat a large baking dish with Pam or similar non-stick spray and form your meatloaf in the baking dish.

Roast at 350 for about 1 hr.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing.

It should be noted that the horseradish does not make the meatloaf overly spicy, and in fact, is not detectable when you taste the meatloaf. However, it does make the meatloaf more moist and flavorful.

Real simple...
1# meatloaf mix (or just beef)
1 egg
bread crumbs
chopped onions
a squirt of ketchup
salt and pepper

cook...

After growing up with brown sugar and tomato sauced meat loafs, I can't even give the unsweetened, brown sauced version a try.

My meatloaf is a little bit on the spendy side but SOOOO worth it!

1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. ground pork sausage
1 lb. ground chuck or veal

2 eggs

1 large onion - finely chopped
2 ribs celery - finely chopped
1 green pepper - finely chopped
1 tbs. chopped garlic
1/2 cup cream
2/3 cup breadcrumbs. I prefer Italian seasoned crumbs
1 tbs. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. rosemary
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Mix the above ingredients together.
Fill a loaf or glass pan with mixture

Topping for Meatloaf.

2 tbs. white or red wine
1/2 cup crushed canned tomatoes
1/2 cup ketchup
2 pieces bacon chopped fine
2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

Pour sauce over meatloaf.

Bake 45 minutes or until sauce is carmalized.

Home made Mac and Cheese and you have the perfect comfort meal.

Yum!
Laura

I keep it simple

3lbs ground beef
1 package onion soup mix
2/3 C ketchup
1/3 C Worchestire Sauce
1T mustard
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 and 1/3 Cups break crumbs (preferably italian seasoned)

mix all ingredients together and bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour. It is great right out of the oven with some ketchup on top and great the next day on bread with ketchup for a meatloaf sandwich.

If you want to turn it into a meat and potato pie just put it in a pie plate and add some american cheese and mashed potatoes to the top. Mmm....Or for italian meatloaf put some Italian meat (whatever you prefer salami, capicola etc) with some cheese (again your choice) and cover with marinara sauce

The major difference in my meatloaf is the use of either hot italian sausgae or spicey breakfast sausage in the mix. Crushed cornflakes, cornchips or doritos instead of breadcrumbs (when you suddenly realize your pantry isn't as stocked as you thought) salsa instead of ketchup or tomato sauce. a neat and tasty addition is shredded or cubed cheddar cheese

See my recipe under the Misc.,Food Related Forum "Bacon in meatloaf" thread. Excellent recipe!

David O.

Nice idea, boyardee65!

This is my own variation on the Alton Brown recipe, which is excellent.  People who don’t like meat loaf have not had it prepared properly.  The usual complaints are that it is dry or mushy, and there are simple remedies for both problems.  Dryness is usually because the meat mixture has been overworked. Ground meat mixes should be combined with a light touch, taking care not to compress the meat mixture excessively.  Mushiness is largely due to a misunderstanding of the use of binders (eggs, milk, & bread).  Only TWO binders should be used in any one dish:  milk and eggs, or eggs and bread, for example.  Thirdly, meat loaf should NOT be cooked in a bread pan, unless you like your food boiled in grease and water.  A meat loaf is nothing more than a very large hamburger, and should be made free-form. 
Heat the oven to 325F. 
 
6 ounces of dry bread crumbs (croutons work well)
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried thyme
½ onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped 
3 cloves garlic, mashed and minced
½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
(or place the above four ingredients in a food processor and pulse until minced)
18 ounces ground chuck
8 ounces ground lamb
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 egg
Note:  for the meat, you can substitute half ground chuck and half ground sirloin and delete the lamb, if desired.  I think the lamb gives this dish a robust flavor. 
 
For the glaze, combine:
½ cup ketchup
1 tsp ground cumin
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash hot pepper sauce
1 TBSP honey 
 
Combine all of the loaf ingredients gently.  Don’t squeeze the meat.  Either free-form the loaf onto a baking sheet, or form into a loaf pan and turn it out onto a baking sheet.  Insert a meat thermometer at the middle of the loaf, and about halfway through.  Place the pan in the oven.  After ten minutes, brush the glaze all over the meatloaf and allow to roast until an internal temperature of 155F has been reached.

I do mine really simply also:
Ground beef
panko crumbs
chopped onion
garlic powder
s & p
couple squirts of ketchup
worcestershire
Form the loaf, then pour a small can of diced tomatoes over the top, and bake.

I'm allergic to eggs, so I obviously don't add them... and I do remember eating meatloaf before my egg allergy, and I can't tell the difference in taste or texture either way.

1/2 cup salsa
1 lb. ground beef/pork mix
1 cup fresh bread crumbs soaked in in beef stock and then squeezed a bit dry 
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup chopped parsley/basil
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup grated onion
1 glove garlic minced


Mix, shape, bake.