anybody have a good recipe for meat loaf:?

Question

the one I have has cracker crumbs and catsup and egg. but it seems when I make it it either falls apart or is to mushy.Is ground chuck or lean hamburger better.

Answer 1

I would not use all lean hamburger, this would make meatloaf too dry. If you want it leaner, I'd mix ground chuck with ground lean beef or turkey.

EASIEST MEATLOAF RECIPE (with carb counts for low-carb dieters) -- no bread fillers, no added sugars (ketchup)

Notes:
1) Can be frozen after cooked: (A) Make sure it’s cooled and drained of fat, (B) Cut into thick slices, (C) Freeze individual portions
2) 18 carbs per pan; 8 slices = 2.25 carbs per slice
3) Can substitute up to ½ ground turkey for ground beef -- taste and texture will still be beefy.
4) Great in sandwiches


Ingredients:
1½-2 lbs.A mix of ground beef (20% fat), turkey, and/or pork
1 Package Knorr's Onion Soup (4 carbs)
½ cup Milk or heavy cream
1 onion, chopped (11 carbs/cup)
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped (1.8-2.7 carbs)

To Prepare:
1) Preheat oven to 350°
2) Mix all ingredients, form into a loaf
3) Place on a rack over a pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350°
4) Check for doneness; it should read medium (155°).
5) Allow to cool in rack for at least 10 minutes and carefully drain any excess fat, before serving.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

It doesn't matter if the meat is ground chuck or lean hamburger meat. What does matter is how much meat you are using whether or not if you need to add another egg or more crackers. I could be more accurate with measurements if I knew how many you were cooking for. Also, you can use a can of tomato soup instead of ketchup to make it more of a paste. Then drizzle the top of the meat loaf with ketchup. It all tastes the same and will stick together! Try it...I promise you will LOVE it!

Plus, you can always add diced bell pepper in it for more taste and a couple of slices on top for looks. YUM!

Answer 4

w/ your recipe, I'd use ground round. Chuck has too much fat.

Also, your recipe may have too many cracker crumbs. Just back off by a third or even a half and see if it doesn't hold together better. ~OR~ you need an additional egg. I'd never make a meatloaf w/ less than 2 eggs.

You may also try a 2-part meatloaf pan where the fat can drain away; then you can still use chuck but it won't be floating in fat.


** Bacon-Wrapped Meat Loaf with Brown Sugar - Ketchup Glaze **
--Cooks Illustrated, Sept.1996

If you like, you can omit the bacon topping from the loaf. In this case, brush on half the glaze before baking and the other half during the last fifteen minutes of baking. Serves 6 to 8

Brown Sugar - Ketchup Glaze
1/2 cup ketchup or chili sauce
4 Tbsp.s brown sugar
4 Tbsp.s cider vinegar or white vinegar

Meat Loaf
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion , chopped medium
2 medium cloves of garlic , minced
2 large eggs
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. table salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
½ cup whole milk or plain yogurt
1 pound ground chuck
½ pound ground pork
½ pound ground veal
2/3 cup Saltine crackers , crushed (about 16), or quick oatmeal, or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup fresh parsley leaf , minced
8-12 slices bacon

1. For the glaze: Mix all ingredients in small saucepan; set aside.

2. For the meat loaf: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.

3. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple Tbsp.s at a time until mix no longer sticks.)

4. Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9-by-5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf .

5. Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool at least 20 minutes. Simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until thickened slightly. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.

Answer 5

Ground chuck, ground sirloin, extra lean ground beef are all good for meatloaf. Ground boston butt pork roast is good also. I use about half and half.

You can use cracker crumbs, bread crumbs, left over croutons, oatmeal, left over corn bread, lots of things to take up the moisture in meatloaf.

I press the meatloaf firmly into the pan so there are no air spaces left. This helps it to not crumble so badly. Mushy is when you get too much liquid and not enough absorbent breads into the meatloaf. Or it isn't baked long enough.

My mother in law always used tomato juice and her meat loaf was always way too soupy!! Limit the moisture content. I use tomato paste instead of catsup, tomato sauce or what ever else.

Answer 6

Tried n True: 1 1/2 lbs ground beef mixed with 11/2 TBS kitchen bouquet browning gravy, 1 egg, 3 TBS bread crumbs,1 tsp seasoned salt,1 tsp black pepper, 1 piece soft bread broken into tiny pieces, add chopped onion or onion powder if you like onion. Form into oval loaf, place in loaf pan ( glass preferred) dont allow sides to touch the pan. Cover w/ foil, bake @ 375 degrees for about an hour, test for doneness, bake 10 min uncovered. Enjoy!

Answer 7

I use ground lean turkey. I mix about 1/2 c Italian bread crumbs, 1 egg, salt and pepper (to taste) in a bowl. Pan out in pan and mix honey BBQ sauce and ketchup together and spread on top. My family doesn't like onions so you can add onions or peppers to this. This is for 1lb of ground turkey.

Answer 8

1 egg
2 tbs. sour cream
2 tbs. ketchup
2 tbs. flour
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1 lb. ground beef
Ketchup for coating outside of loaf
1/3-cup spicy V-8 juice

Put first 5 ingredients into blender; blend till smooth. Combine with meat and mix well. Put into greased loaf pan and cover with foil and bake at 400° for about 40 min. Take out and cover top with ketchup. Pour V-8 around edge
and bake another 40 min.

Answer 9

cottage meat loaf


1 1-2 lean ground beef
1-2 cup tomato ketchup
1-3 cup tomato juice
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp pepper
2 eggs beaten
3-4 cup bread crumbs
1-4 cup finely chopped onions
2 tsp mustard

topping


1-4 cup tomato ketchup
1-2 tsp mustard
2 tsp brown sugar

in large bowl, combine ketchup, tomato juice, salt, pepper,eggs, bread crumbs,onions,and mustard; mix until
thoroughly blended. add ground beef mix gently but thoroughly.
line 9x5 inch loaf pan with foil. press in be ff mixture.

TOPPING; in separate bowl, combine ingredients,mixing well.
spread over meat loaf. bake at 400 for 35 to 45
minutes or until done. drain off fat. rest meat loaf
for 5 to 10 minutes.

Answer 10

We found the one we like on the back of a "Stove Top Stuffing for Pork" box. Uses the stuffing instead of old, plain bread crumbs.