A 'Why Didn't I Think of That?' Hack for Meatloaf

In early March, I published a Big Little meatloaf recipe. It has five ingredients and zero frills: ground beef, onions, bread, eggs, ketchup. All get mixed together, formed into a loaf, and baked.

But apparently, the bread should have gone under the meatloaf, too.

A couple Food52ers told me about this smart hack in the article comment section. First, Christine: “A extra great trick I learned from Sara Moulton: Cook the loaf on top of white bread slices. It absorbs the extra fat.”

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Whoa, right? Then, Marsha S. chimed in: “I, too, put two pieces of white bread on the bottom of the loaf pan to absorb all the fat that pours out of the meatloaf!”

Of course I had to try it. So I made my meatloaf recipe again—but instead of making one loaf, I split the mixture into two for a side-by-side comparison. On one sheet pan, a free-form meatloaf, with nothing underneath. On the other, I shaped the loaf atop a bed of sliced bread.

The result? After slicing into the meatloaves, they didn’t seem that different. Was one moister? Less greasy? The bottom of the bread-hack meatloaf did seem less oily, but beyond that: hard to tell. I wonder how the test would fare in a loaf pan, where the loaves are more surrounded by rendering fat and more prone to greasiness.

Despite the subtle differences in taste, I’m definitely turning to this trick again (and again and again). Because even if the meatloaves themselves were comparable, one had a clear bonus over the other: crispy, golden, beef-fatty toast. This is just as great to serve alongside your meatloaf as it is to turn into a sandwich.