What's wrong with my meatloaf? (too soft, spongy, wierd shape)?

Question

I use 2 pounds of ground beef, bread crumbs, ketchup or tomato sauce (depending on what I currently have), one egg, and I throw in some chopped onions. The flavor is good, but it's a bit too spongy & soft. When I take it out of the oven, it's no longer shaped as neat & round as when I put it in. It has all kinds of lumps & curves to it.
What am I doing wrong? Am I putting too much of one thing in it, or not enough of something else? And what is the correct temperature and time to cook a 2 pound meatloaf?

Answer 1

You need more oats, crackers, or bread crumbs, and cook at 375 for 45-1 hour.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

You should cook it at 350 degrees. It might not have enough bread crumbs in it. You need those to absorb some of the sponginess. Are you using a loaf pan? If not, it will lose some of its shape. Also, make sure you use the leanest meat you can find; otherwise, you will have lots of grease, which can contribute to the sponginess factor. Here's how I make mine:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1 dash ground black pepper
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup steak sauce, (e.g. Heinz 57)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

Put it in a loaf pan and cook it for about an hour. It always turns out great. There are also recipe sites on the web. allrecipes.com is good.

Answer 4

Hi.......U didn't give an amount of ketchup or tomato sauce u use but it is possible that u might be using too much liquid ingredients. I can't be sure without knowing how much u use. But one thing that I don't think anybody mentioned is that after u put all ur ingredients into bowl & r mixing it, u have to use ur hands (sry, but get better results with ur hands) to "play" with the mixture for a bit.....a little like kneading it. Mix everything to incorporate with a spoon if u wish but once it's all mixed together, using ur hands, lightly "squish" the mixture between ur finger's. Do this maybe 5-6 times, making sure not to over-do it or ur meatloaf will be hard! This procedure is what helps the meatloaf keep it's shape, even if not using a loaf pan. The meatloaf still may slightly fall a bit but it will keep the majority of it's shape.
Providing u do this, u can use any type of ground beef u want, weather it's extra lean or regular. I'd suggest that u use a medium ground beef with either ground pork OR ground veal. Using the combo add's to the taste. The fat content in the ground beef also helps to maintain moisture & helps with the flavour of the meatloaf. So, give it a shot & c how it turn's out! GOOD LUCK!!!>>>>>>zeta

Answer 5

I don't think you had enough egg....it is too late for this time but next time,,you might try this recipe.. TURKEY MEATLOAF 2 lbs. ground turkey 3 eggs, slightly beaten 1 medium red onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 medium bell pepper, chopped 1 cup old fashioned oats 1 can mild Rotel tomatoes, diced 1 lg. jar marinara sauce 1 tablespoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Mix together all ingredients except for 1/2 jar of marinara sauce. Place in a large cast iron skillet or 2 loaf pans and cook at 350°F for 45 minutes then spread remaining marinara sauce on top and cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes

Answer 6

I use

1 lb ground beef,
a couple of table spoons of ketchup
splash of worchestshire
one egg,
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup breadcrumbs (flavored kind taste best) (or a little more if it still seems too wet)
I don't use real onions because my son won't eat it if he sees it so I use....
garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper to taste.



Then I shape it into 2 small loaves, bake it for about 30-45 min at 350 degrees until done

Comes out perfect everytime...In fact, thats what we had for dinner last night!

Answer 7

Try adding several pieces of white bread like wonder bread that has been broken up into the mix as well as an extra egg and a cup of whole milk. This should firm it up and keep it moist at the same time without deforming. Also, use a loaf pan which helps keep the shape a lot too.

Answer 8

Sounds like the normal ingredients but are you baking it in a loaf pan????? Also what percentage of burger are you using, it may have too much fat in it. Sometimes if I am making it with the cheaper burger I drain the fat from it in the middle of cooking. Also if you are baking it covered, remove the cover 1/2 way through cooking to help "dry" it out a bit. I also do not use tomato sauce, I use ketchup, go a bit easier on the liquid ingredients. I don't follow a recipe exactly, I know how we like it and it is tailored to our taste, which is easy to do with meatloaf.

Answer 9

A lot of fat in the meat maybe? I've had that happen too. More breadcrumbs. Small egg. Smaller pan will help the shape. cook at 350 about 1 hr - 1 1/2 hrs.

Answer 10

It sounds like too much bread crumbs. It changes shape because the fat cooks out around the meat and the crumbs collapse. I'm not sure of the time and temperature. I usually bake mine about an hour and then drain the grease and pour gravy over and bake another half hour, but I'm not sure of the temperature without looking it up.

Answer 11

I use a glass bread loaf pan . I put the mixture in the pan leaving about 1 inch open at the end to collect all the grease from the meat.
Add more bread crumbs to avoid a spongy meat loaf.