My meatloaf dilemma....

[DaveSoMD]

I agree with everyone about the mixture being to wet. Mine is similiar to yours but I grate all my veggies and only use 'a good squirt' of ketchup. I only ever use 1 egg up to 2 lbs of beef and I form and bake mine like Caine suggests, using the loaf pan and plastic wrap to shape the loaf andcookin on a broiler pan.

Also, try slicing the loaf with a serated knife. That will also help prevent it from falling apart.

 

[Caslon]

Meatloaf is basically ground beef...held together with the ingrediants.
It will crumble apart if not sliced carefully. Use a serrated knife.

The advice about not using a loaf pan is a good one.

I take my time patting my 1 lb. meatloaf mix into a bread loaf shape.

I then draw my finger down the middle at the top for when I add Chili sauce during the last 10 minutes of baking.

 

[LEFSElover]

Hoping some of these help you...

I think if you looked at discusscooking alone regarding meatloaf, you'd spend the entire day reading. it's been discussed that many times.
Many of us have had questions about it and sought out favorite recipes, many of which many of us have tried and they are truly delicious.
Here is a web site that I just now found, but here is another one with many responses. I've made quite a few from this second one myself so they're for your interest in meatloaves.
Oh the mighty meatloaf, it's a tricky character indeed.
Harder than many would assume to get a really good one.

 

[Robo410]

I love meatloaf. Your recipe looks fine. I think you have good suggestions here to try and see what works best.

 

[babetoo]

do a search here on dc for cheeseburger meatloaf. it is really good and slices like a dream. ole blues recipe. you will love it, my granddaughter and boyfriend did when i made it for them.


babe

 

[essenceofeclectic]

I heard a good tip for meatloaf regarding disposing of the excess grease.
Put a piece of bread on the bottom of the container you're using to cook the meatloaf in. The piece of bread will absorb the excess grease. When the meatloaf has finished cooking, you can just discard the piece of bread.

 

[JGDean]

Sometimes I use a dark colored non-stick loaf pan with holes in the bottom set inside one without holes. This seems to help if my ingredients are wet, some of the grease and moisture drains off. My "older than dirt" cast iron skillet is the best though. I like to shape it round and cook in it. Nice crust.

 

[GotGarlic]

I heard a good tip for meatloaf regarding disposing of the excess grease.
Put a piece of bread on the bottom of the container you're using to cook the meatloaf in. The piece of bread will absorb the excess grease. When the meatloaf has finished cooking, you can just discard the piece of bread.

I find that simply pouring off the excess grease into a glass jar as soon as I take the meatloaf out of the oven and then discarding the jar works well. The meatloaf is juicy but not soggy and the slices hold together well.

 

[CarolPa]

Sorry to revive such an old thread. I came here looking for suggestions for my meatloaf falling apart. I used to make meatloaf in a loaf pan every Sunday to slice up for sandwiches for my husband's lunch. It never fell apart. Then one day I formed my meatloaf into an oval and put it in a large baking dish, cut up potatoes around it and spooned a can of tomato soup over the potatoes. Covered it with foil, baked for 45 min, then removed the foil to continue baking. My family loved those potatoes so much, that now I have to do it that way every time, but it usually does not slice up well. I don't use a recipe...never did. Just mix meat, egg, onion, parsley, seasoning bread crumbs (about 1/2 cup for each pound of meat) and ketchup. Don't measure anything except the breadcrumbs. I would love to go back to the meatloaf in the loaf pan. Maybe I could put the potatoes and tomato soup in an other pan.

Just thought that maybe the meatloaf I made for sandwiches didn't fall apart because once it cooled it was refrigerated until I made lunches the next day. Maybe refrigerating it made it more firm.

 

[Andy M.]

Make your meatloaf in a loaf pan and make the potatoes separately.

 

[taxlady]

We make an oval meatloaf on a pan surrounded by potatoes too. We cover the meatloaf with bacon and chill the leftovers. They slice up really nicely.

It might also be because I use flour instead of bread crumbs in this meatloaf and beat it really well.

 

[lyndalou]

I like the one egg and less catsup answer. Never mix it with an electric mixer, just your hands until it is well combined.

 

[Aunt Bea]

When I am making a meatloaf for sandwiches I make it in a loaf pan. When I take it out of the oven I put another loaf pan on top of it and weight it down with a frying pan or a couple of cans of vegetables. When it is cool I put it in the refrigerator overnight, with the weights in place. This process forces out much of the fat and makes a dense meatloaf that slices similar to deli cold cuts.

Try it on onion rye bread with Russian dressing, lettuce, tomato and onions!

 

[CarolPa]

I only make meatloaf about once a month, but I am looking forward to it now, to try out my new tricks I've learned. I will use less egg and less ketchup, although I do like the flavor that the ketchup adds. I will make it in a loaf pan and cook the potatoes and tomato soup in another pan at the same time.

I have a meatloaf recipe of my mother's that she used to make in a frying pan on top of the stove. She put the meatloaf in the frying pan with tomato sauce and let it simmer with a lid. I don't recall if she used canned sauce or if it was a sauce she made herself. I think she did this because she didn't like the outside to get hard, but that is one of the things I like about meatloaf. I have to bake it at least part of the time uncovered so it gets a little crunchy on the top.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Are you baking it in a loaf pan? If so, DON'T DO THAT ANY MORE!

Form it in a loaf pan, but then remove your meat loaf from the pan and bake it inverted on a broiler pan with a grate.

The outside will crust up to hold it together, and most of the fat will drain off through the grate into the broiler pan to keep it from being soggy.


Before I discovered this method, I used to put a bunch of folded up paper towels on the bottom of the loaf pan to absorb the grease. Before you ask, no, I never had the paper towels catch fire.

 

[CarolPa]

I might try the broiler pan. I have one of those double loaf pans that have the holes in the bottom for the grease to drain into the lower pan. When made meatloaf the first time I had it in a loaf pan with nothing on top of it. That's how my mother used to do it. My friend came over and told me I had to put a lid on it so I put foil over it. But I like the crust that forms from not having it covered. I guess everyone does it different.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I have two creative loaves that I like to make. The first one, I call it a Mexican Volcano. I use a mixture of ground beef, and a spicy sausage such as chorizo. I then add an egg, some breadcrumbs, a bit of milk, and season it with mild and hot diced peppers, diced onion, cumin, cilantro, coriander, and garlic. I form it into a mountain, with a crater on top. I do this on a foil lined jelly-roll pan. I stick a meat thermometer in it and roast in a 400' oven until the thermometer reads 160 F. I then remove it from the oven, sop up the grease with paper towels, and then put enchilada sauce into the crater until it spills over the top like hot lava. Then, I place bits of shredded Monterrey Jack cheese into the "lava" rivulets to mimic glowing lava. I put it back into the oven for another ten minutes to melt the cheese, and get the sauce hot. To make it even more spectacular, I spread re-fried beans over the pan, and stand broccoli flowerettes in the beans, to make little trees.

The second loaf is made the same way, but with ground beef and Italian Sausage. Herbs include a fair amount of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and with the diced onion and sweet pepper. In this one, Parmigiano Regiano is used with marinara sauce for the lava.

Be creative with your meatloaf. Try placing the mixture into a piping bag, with not decorating insert, and squeezing out a tube that is side at the bottom, and spirals upward into a cone. Any thing is possible. Enjoy the process as well as the recipe.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Rob Babcock]

I think baking the load in a closed pan is kind of gross! It just stews in it's own fat! My method is to form it in a pan then turn it out on a sheet pan lined with foil. Make there there's enough of a lip to catch the grease, and baking it on a cooking rack is ideal.

If it's not firm enough, try adding one extra yolk. That helps. Also don't use too much liquid ingredients. Keep the fillers to a minimum. I use about 1.5-2 cups oatmeal for 5 lbs of meat.

 

[CarolPa]

Chief Longwind - Your Mexican Volcano sounds great and my step children would really love it, but not my DH. He is not an adverturous person with eating and also would never eat Mexican. But my step children lived in LA for a while with their mother and got used to Mexican food. At Christmas, I always make a Mexican style dip or side dish for them.

Rob, the meatloaf doesn't stew in it's own fat if you use the pan with the holes in the bottom for the fat to drain, and a loaf pan makes it just the right size to cut slices for sandwiches. But someone also had the idea to shape it in the loaf pan then turn it out on a broiler pan to bake. I might try that.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Yeah, turning it out is better. For one thing it lets the whole loaf brown instead of just the top.