I've been banned from making meat loaf...

[allisonwinters]

My husband has banned me from making meat loaf ever again. I admit, every time I try to make a meat loaf it turns out terrible. He likes meat loaf, but "my" meat loaf is apparently terrible.

So I stopped trying to make it and use chicken and fish and things to make dinner with. But our budget is a little bit tight and I'd really like to be able to use more ground beef since it's cheaper.

Does anyone have any tips for making meat loaf? I don't have my own recipe, but I've tried a few that I found online and none were that great. My meat loaf usually turns out quite moist, too moist. I try to offset this by adding breadcrumbs like my mother does, but then it turns tasteless.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I love making meat loaf!

I always start off with ground beef, or a combination of ground beef, pork and veal. Or you can use ground turkey. But use regular ground beef, because meat loaf is almost like pate. You need some fat to help hold it together! Extra lean or lean won't work, because without the natural fat, it falls apart & crumbles when you try to slice it! That has happened to me before.

I then chop up some onion, green pepper carrot & celery, about 1/2 cup each, along with about 3 gloves of chopped garlic. I sautee this mixture in a skillet to give it a head start. Don't like crunchy veggies in meat loaf!
I then crack about 3 or 4 eggs, beat them up and add them to the meat mixture. To help further bind it together, I use about 1/2 cup or either oatmeal, bread crumbs or a little flour. Or I used some torn up bread soaked in a little bit of milk.

After the cooked and slightly cooled veggies are added, in go the seasonings - some ketchup, salt-pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, a little seasoned salt and some Sylvia's Seasoning.

I then either use a loaf pan, or I form the meat in a oblong shape on a rack lined with foil poked with a fork to allow the fat to run to the bottom of a roasting or baking pan. Sixty to 70 minutes in a preheated oven at about 350 degrees, and it should be done.

 

[queenbellevue]

You can try and use ground pork instead?

 

[Rosyrain]

I have banned myself from making meatloaf because I can't stand the stuff. I can eat it every once in a while if someone else makes it, but I do not like it enough to make it myself...not to mention the blanket of Ketchup on top...Yuck!

 

[GadgetGuy]

I have banned myself from making meatloaf because I can't stand the stuff. I can eat it every once in a while if someone else makes it, but I do not like it enough to make it myself...not to mention the blanket of Ketchup on top...Yuck!

You don't have to put ketchup on top of it if you don't want to.

 

[Berties]

In the uk we have a meat loaf of sorts called faggots,you mince on a course plate pork belly ,smoke bacon and pigs offal then season with herbs and onion and wrap ball size amounts in caul fat and braise in Garvey
Some people go mad for them ..............

 

[purplepen88]

I love meatloaf and so do my kids. I like making because it's a great way to get veggies into my kids without them knowing it. I use celery, carrot, onions in my meatloaf. I sometimes use a mix of ground pork and ground beef. Mostly I make it with just ground beef. To keep it moist use egg, bread crumbs. I top with a ketchup, brown sugar and dry mustard sauce. I like to follow Martha Stewart's mom meatloaf recipe. It's really good. http://www.marthastewart.com/318232/meatloaf-101-with-mrs-kostyra

 

[OhioTom76]

Don't feel so bad, my last few attempts at making meatloaf were lousy as well. In my defense, I was trying out some recipes I came across online, instead of making how my mom usually makes it.

The most recent recipe I tried called for a topping of this mixture of ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. It was way too sweet and syrupy and ruined the dish. Not to mention the meatloaf itself didn't hold together at all, so when you tried to cut a slice of it, it all crumbled apart.

Another recipe I attempted called for the addition of panko breadcrumb into the meat mix. It too was way too crumbly and spongy. It was more like a bread loaf with a little meat mixed in. It had the texture and taste of a damp loaf of dense bread.

Honestly the way my mom would make it was pretty much like how she would make our meatballs - only instead of using white bread soaked in milk, she would just use the pre-made seasoned breadcrumbs out of a box/cannister, and no milk added to the mix. Also, no parmesan cheese either. She went light on the breadcrumbs too, so the loaf didn't come out all mealy tasting, but remained meaty. For the sauce over top, it was just regular spaghetti sauce, no ketchup concoctions or BBQ sauce. She also didn't put any of that dried soup mix in her meatloaf either.

 

[Corzhens]

Meatloaf, okay. I also want meatloaf sometimes so I always have a can of meatloaf in the cabinet. I had been given a recipe of how to make homemade meatloaf but my husband voted against it. Why undergo such tedious procedure of concocting your own meatloaf when you can easily buy a can which is not really that expensive. The Dax brand is one of our favorites because it is juicy. So when I want meatloaf, that's it for us - the canned meatload.

 

[Pat]

I have also banned myself from making meat loaf and I really miss the meat loaf sandwiches. I don't know what I do wrong but it just does not turn out good. Mu mom makes the best meat loaf and she taught me buut it is not the same.

 

[winterybella]

Well thankfully, I could not be banned because I never made it. Now it's being mentioned here I should probably give it a try and see how I do. I stopped and did a search and maybe I will hold off for now. I don't think the family will like this. After a while you know what will go well with your folks. Still, if I had to I'd go with this simple recipe.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/16354/easy-meatloaf/

 

[kgord]

My husband has banned me from making meat loaf ever again. I admit, every time I try to make a meat loaf it turns out terrible. He likes meat loaf, but "my" meat loaf is apparently terrible.

So I stopped trying to make it and use chicken and fish and things to make dinner with. But our budget is a little bit tight and I'd really like to be able to use more ground beef since it's cheaper.

Does anyone have any tips for making meat loaf? I don't have my own recipe, but I've tried a few that I found online and none were that great. My meat loaf usually turns out quite moist, too moist. I try to offset this by adding breadcrumbs like my mother does, but then it turns tasteless.

wow, I am surprised, meatloaf is pretty easy to make, and usually turns out wonderfully. Did he say what the problem was with your meatloaf? If you know the problems, you can begin to correct them. I find either ground beef or ground turkey make a wonderful meatloaf, and there are so many ways to prepare it as well.

 

[kgord]

Meatloaf, okay. I also want meatloaf sometimes so I always have a can of meatloaf in the cabinet. I had been given a recipe of how to make homemade meatloaf but my husband voted against it. Why undergo such tedious procedure of concocting your own meatloaf when you can easily buy a can which is not really that expensive. The Dax brand is one of our favorites because it is juicy. So when I want meatloaf, that's it for us - the canned meatload.

Yikes, Corhenz meatloaf out of a can does not sound good at all. Here in the US I don't even think they sell meatloaf in a can, and if they did, probably no one would buy it. Most people and families have their own methods of preparing it/ I am sad right now, because my oven needs to be fixed....if it didn't, I would be making meat loaf this week, I bet with the cooler weather.

 

[Corzhens]

Yikes, Corhenz meatloaf out of a can does not sound good at all. Here in the US I don't even think they sell meatloaf in a can, and if they did, probably no one would buy it. Most people and families have their own methods of preparing it/ I am sad right now, because my oven needs to be fixed....if it didn't, I would be making meat loaf this week, I bet with the cooler weather.

I don't really know what you mean by meatloaf but what I'm saying with the canned meatloaf is what was on the label. Even corned beef, we buy the canned corned beef because it is tedious to make homemade corned beef. And back to the meatloaf, what we have here is the canned and that's what is eaten here since a long time ago. I remember the olden times when the best meatloaf was imported from the US.