Cooks Illustrated had a great suggestion for meatloaf. The basis of which is adding unflavored gelatin to a bit of stock for an all beef meatloaf (sometimes we don't have ground pork and veal). The Gelatin addition in the moistining stock---with cracker crumbs etc...holds in the moisture. It's perfect and now my "go to" recipe for meat loaf.
http://whatdidyoueat.typepad.com/what_did_you_eat/2006/12/a_few_weeks_ago.html
My partner is a former Marine and really disliked meat loaf..until I made this one. (something about WTF? Meatlloaf that dry tasteless crap!!). Now he requests it. The Gelatin was the key...(along with freeform loaf and not swimming in grease and sauce).
For reallyspecial meatloaf, I make the one made famous in Vogue from 72 Market Street (in Venice, CA, now defunct, used to be owned by Dudley Moore.) This was developed in the 90's when revamped comfort foods were making a splash in restaurants and the French chef was asked to put one on the menu. It was very popular and I think ended up in the Times and being demo'd on TV a lot. It's all over the web, here's one. I do recall the chef kneaded the half & half into the meat though.
http://www.thatsmyhome.com/momsdiner/beef/market.htm
Be sure to mince the vegetables very finely. I also make the loaf free form in a 9x13 pan, I've never done it in a loaf. And I haven't make this sauce for it.
The recipe from Quaker Oats is great. Change up the flavorings as you like. http://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipes/content/recipes/recipe-detail.aspx?recipeId=575
The oats are a nice change from all the recipes with breadcrumbs. I usually do 1/2 ground beef, 1/2 ground turkey. Enjoy!
2 lbs. total ground beef, pork and veal
1 pkg. Lipton beefy onion or onion mushroom soup mix
1 1/2 cup of your favorite bread crumbs
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup
Preheat over 350
In a large bowl mix all ingredients together with your hands be careful not to over mix.
Form mixture into one large round loaf,
Place in a glass pyrex round ovenproof bowl with lid.
Bake 1 hour. let sit for 5-10 minutes
Ellen’s Favorite Meatloaf
Serves 6-8
This meatloaf is the perfect combination of soft on the inside and crusty on the outside.
Ingredients
2# ground chuck (preferable 80/20)
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
6 slices stale white bread
1½ packages Lipton Onion soup mix or your favorite onion soup mix
3T fresh chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper liberally
Topping
1 c catsup
2T worchestershire sauce
Hot sauce (like Crystal) to taste
1. Preheat oven to 375. Prepare two loaf pans by spraying with cooking spray. Or one large pan.
2. In a large bowl, soak the stale bread in 2 cups of cold water until completely saturated. Form the bread into balls and squeeze some of the water out, keeping the bread wet but able to hold it’s form.
3. Place bread back into the bowl, add meat, eggs, Onion soup mix, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until everything is totally incorporated – do not overmix!
4. Form meat mixture into two small loafs. Place in pans. Mix the catsup, worchestershire and hot sauce in a bowl. Spoon the mixture over the top of each meatloaf.
5. Place pans in oven. Bake for 45minutes-1 hour. Remove from oven, let sit for 10-15 minutes then remove meatloafs from pans. Enjoy!
On the theory that more is better, here are all the community picks for meatloaf on this site:
http://food52.com/recipes/search?c=1&recipe_search=meatloaf
9 Comments
http://whatdidyoueat.typepad.com/what_did_you_eat/2006/12/a_few_weeks_ago.html
My partner is a former Marine and really disliked meat loaf..until I made this one. (something about WTF? Meatlloaf that dry tasteless crap!!). Now he requests it. The Gelatin was the key...(along with freeform loaf and not swimming in grease and sauce).
http://www.thatsmyhome.com/momsdiner/beef/market.htm
Be sure to mince the vegetables very finely. I also make the loaf free form in a 9x13 pan, I've never done it in a loaf. And I haven't make this sauce for it.
The oats are a nice change from all the recipes with breadcrumbs. I usually do 1/2 ground beef, 1/2 ground turkey. Enjoy!
Serves 8
2 lbs. total ground beef, pork and veal
1 pkg. Lipton beefy onion or onion mushroom soup mix
1 1/2 cup of your favorite bread crumbs
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup
Preheat over 350
In a large bowl mix all ingredients together with your hands be careful not to over mix.
Form mixture into one large round loaf,
Place in a glass pyrex round ovenproof bowl with lid.
Bake 1 hour. let sit for 5-10 minutes
Serves 6-8
This meatloaf is the perfect combination of soft on the inside and crusty on the outside.
Ingredients
2# ground chuck (preferable 80/20)
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
6 slices stale white bread
1½ packages Lipton Onion soup mix or your favorite onion soup mix
3T fresh chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper liberally
Topping
1 c catsup
2T worchestershire sauce
Hot sauce (like Crystal) to taste
1. Preheat oven to 375. Prepare two loaf pans by spraying with cooking spray. Or one large pan.
2. In a large bowl, soak the stale bread in 2 cups of cold water until completely saturated. Form the bread into balls and squeeze some of the water out, keeping the bread wet but able to hold it’s form.
3. Place bread back into the bowl, add meat, eggs, Onion soup mix, parsley and salt and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until everything is totally incorporated – do not overmix!
4. Form meat mixture into two small loafs. Place in pans. Mix the catsup, worchestershire and hot sauce in a bowl. Spoon the mixture over the top of each meatloaf.
5. Place pans in oven. Bake for 45minutes-1 hour. Remove from oven, let sit for 10-15 minutes then remove meatloafs from pans. Enjoy!
http://food52.com/recipes/search?c=1&recipe_search=meatloaf
http://www.food52.com/recipes/6754_meatloaf_roulade