<p>Any thought on producing a great meatloaf appreciated!</p>
<p>My mom used to use 3 kinds of ground meat. I think they were beef, lamb, and pork.</p>
<p>[Good</a> Eats Meat Loaf Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network](<a href=“http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-meat-loaf-recipe/index.html]Good”>http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-meat-loaf-recipe/index.html)</p>
<p>Better than my usual “just dump stuff in” method of cooking.</p>
<p>My recipe is beef, lamb and pork (all ground up) one egg, bread crumbs to soak up any extra moisture, salt, pepper, 2 tbls mustard, a dash of worchestire sauce or A1, a dash of ketchup. Mix together and mold into a loaf pan. On top spread a small amount of ketchup and lay 3 strips of bacon across. You could put in sauteed finely chopped onions in also. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Drain off any grease from the bacon. This recipe is always a hit. It tastes great on sandwiches the next day also</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to some great tips here. I never have made a great meatloaf. The most memorable catastrophe was when my sister’s family was visiting and my meatloaf just fell into pieces. My niece, a five year old who really enjoyed eating, looked at it and asked “What do you call this?” Upon hearing my response of “meatloaf”, she leaned over towards my husband and asked " What did you marry her for then?"</p>
<p>Wolfgang Puck fixes a fabulous meat loaf with port wine gravy at several of his restaurants. The recipe can be found on Foodnetwork as well.</p>
<p>momsworried, that sounds delicious!</p>
<p>Not a recipe, but a cooking hint…</p>
<p>When you make meatloaf, double your recipe and cook the extra in muffin tins and freeze. This makes a wonderful instant dinner - just pull out as many as you need and microwave them. What a treat!</p>
<p>Soften the bread crumbs with hot water. Add a squirt of Ketchup into the bowl. Add one egg per pound of meat. Add one packet of dry Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Season the way you like (we like to add a little grated parmesan cheese to the mix). Get your hands right in there and mix it well. Shape it into a football (:)), season the top with whatever you like and bake at 350 degrees until done. </p>
<p>For leftovers, one of our favorites is to cut whatever is leftover into slices. Line a cookie sheet with foil and lightly spray with PAM Olive Oil Spray (so slices don’t stick). Lay the slices flat on the cookie sheet. Top each slice with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and place in oven (about 350 degrees) until everything is hot and cheese is melted.</p>
<p>momsworried: How much pound wise of the meat? Are the 3 meats equal parts?</p>
<p>huguenot: OMG Meatloaf muffins! I’d be snacking on those all day.</p>
<p>The 3 meats are usually in three equal parts. I have been able to find it all packaged together in my stores marked “meatloaf mix”. I find that 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lbs total works out well. If I couldn’t divide it evenly, I would go heavier on the beef.</p>
<p>hoosiermom, that was funny !
I never make my meatloaf the same way twice…no real recipe, but I always use a chopped onion and bread crumbs…usually whatever herbs I have on hand , parmesan and cheddar…egg beaten…sometimes a shot of ketchup. Whatever there is and my family loves my " recipe "
Oh and I have never used multiple kinds of ground meat…just beef</p>
<p>Here’s my Mom’s recipe exactly as she gave it to me:</p>
<p>2-2.5 lbs. ground beef (optional 1/2 pound ground pork or sausage meat)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (or crumbs from crackers, unsweetened breakfast cereal etc.)
1/2 cup of cottage cheese (or sour cream or cream)
1 egg
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp A-1 sauce
1/2 tsp seasoned salt or salt and herbs
black pepper
1/4-1/3 cup chopped onion</p>
<p>All quantities are approximate. The whole point of meatloaf is flexibility and improvisation. My mother used to grind everything in a meat grinder on the kitchen counter. She started with chunks of beef, added onion, leftover vegetables (green beans, carrots), and ended by putting some bread through the grinder “to clean it”. She made the best meat loaf ever and it was even better cold. Mine’s not that good.</p>
<p>Mix everything together mold into a loaf on a flat baking pan. (Not in a bread pan). Top loaf with strips of bacon. 500 degree oven about 15 min. then 325 degrees till done - 30 min. to 1 hour.</p>
<p>Serve with tomato sauce and mashed potatoes.</p>
<p>Note:
I never had my grandmother’s meatloaf as she died before I was born, but my mother’s was good and I make it like she does flexibly! I don’t remember having tomato sauce, I like my meatloaf with ketchup.</p>
<p>Here’s my recipe:
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 can tomato sauce (save 1/2 for the top)
1/2 - 3/4 c oatmeal (you can pulse it in the blender if you like smaller pieces)
2 eggs
1 tsp. each salt, parsley, chives, garlic powder, onion powder (one S won’t eat onions)
1/2 tsp. each basil, pepper</p>
<p>Mix well. Put half the meat in the bottom of an oiled loaf pan making it rise slightly around the edges. Layer slices of provolone cheese, keeping it away from edges. Cover with the rest of the meat. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the top.</p>
<p>If not making it for the kids, I add diced onions and mushrooms and fresh garlic.</p>
<p>One key–put the meat through a food processor or meat grinder again to get a very fine grind. Makes it more smooth and less like a big burger.</p>
<p>I make the meatloaf in our house. Ground beef, lamb and pork, finely diced green bell pepper and sweet onion, salt, pepper, a little bit of catchup and… wait for this…RAISINS. Two or three strips pf bacon on the top. Form into a log and place in a deep cooking dish on a rack so the fat can drain away. Do not over cook. </p>
<p>The raisins are key. Serve with salad, mash potato and brown/mushroom gravy.</p>
<p>Another vote for beef > pork= veal (11b beef, 1/2 each ground pork & veal). Also ditto the oatmeal (NOT instant) instead of crumbs. And “ketchup in , ketchup on”. I’ll try to link my recipe.</p>
<p>Here it is
This one uses only ground sirloin.</p>
<p>[Food</a> & Wine’s No-Apologies Meatloaf Recipe : Recipezaar](<a href=“http://www.recipezaar.com/Food-Wines-No-Apologies-Meatloaf-215513]Food”>http://www.recipezaar.com/Food-Wines-No-Apologies-Meatloaf-215513)</p>
<p>This is my family’s favorite - I just made it last night. My daughter took the recipe with her to Argentina last year when she was an exchange student and made it several times for her host family and friends. </p>
<p>1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 egg
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1/2 C oatmeal
3-4 TB ketchup or rich tomato sauce
salt & pepper to taste
Topping: 3 strips bacon & more ketchup</p>
<p>Mix all ingredients; place in loaf pan. Spread extra ketchup on top; then lay bacon on top of loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes, draining liquid from pan after 1/2 hour.</p>
<p>Thank you, thank you! I thought I posted too late to get help in time for tonight and that we’d be stuck with another meatloaf I just don’t understand what I did wrong to! I have beef and pork on hand and will try some of these hints depending on what I find in my mom’s pantry.</p>
<p>I make the basic recipe as others have stated, meat, oatmeal, egg, tomato sauce, seasoning, etc. I do use the green pepper and onion, but I found that if I use the frozen of both, the meatloaf is moister than if I use fresh. I guess it is just the extra frozen moisture that gets mixed in. I sometimes use a splash of milk for moisture also.</p>