Meatloaf Makers: What's the secret?

[DemonLlama]

OK, so I've already popped the perennial favorite in the oven for tonight, but it got me wondering what other folks think is the key ingredient for their meatloaf masterpieces. Borrowing from Capital One a bit: What's in YOUR meatloaf? (And you can leave out the common ingredients such as say, um, MEAT!)

 

[ahutton]

I use eggs, seasoned bread crumbs, blue cheese crumbles, a bit of crushed garlic and worchester sauce... Plus the other "normal" seasonings and catsup. That sounds good - I'll thaw out burger for tomorrow!

 

[dturner]

I use eggs, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, salt, pepper and tomato paste!

 

[HughJackman'n'me]

...my meatloaf mix (pork, beef, veal) with garlic salt,grated parmesan cheese, 1 egg, a bit of ketsup, and onion flakes. Then I mix well and flatten it on a cutting board into a flat rectangle. I sprinkle this with mozzarella cheese, topped with THIN slices of domestic ham, followed by another layer of mozzarella cheese. I take the end of the meatloaf and roll it like a giant Yodel or jelly roll, sealing the ends with warm water. Place in a Pyrex pan (add about 1-2 oz. of water in the pan) and bake at 375 for about 1 hour (I usually cover the pan with foil for about the first 35 minutes to keep it moist). Add a can of tomato sauce on top and continue cooking for the last 25 minutes, adding some more mozzarella cheese about 6 or 7 minutes before its done. Serve with mashed potatoes. YUMMY!

[Drat! Now I just made myself HUNGRY! I hate when that happens!!]

 

[floridafam]

onion, seasoning salt, egg, italian bread crumbs, etc.

The best part of meatloaf is the cold meatloaf sandwiches the next day! YUM!

 

[Towncrier]

I remember seeing "meatloaf mix" in the meat section of our grocery store. Apparently it was equal parts of ground beef, ground veal, and ground pork. My mom always used just ground beef, so I was surprised to see the other two ingredients.

Good luck with your meatloaf.

http://www.allsands.com/Food/Recipes/meatloafrecipe_srr_gn.htm

 

[TLinden16]

I use breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic powder, and a half can of Hunts tomato sauce in the meat. I put a couple of slices of American cheese in the middle, and put the rest of the sauce on top before cooking it.

Karen

 

[floridafam]

I used to use the 3 meats for meatloaf. Most of the stores around here said they couldn't sell them packaged together anymore because of cross contamination or something.

 

[cgcw]

Instead of bread crumbs, I use 2 slices of whatever bread happens to be in the house, cut up into cubes. Other the rest of the pretty standard ingredients, I put a teaspoon of mustard in also.

Wow!! It's been a long time since we had meat loaf. I'll have to plan on that.

 

[Kallison]

That yodel meatloaf sounds awesome (and I don't really like the stuff)!

 

[HughJackman'n'me]

It is!! I vowed NEVER to make meatloaf like my mom (sorry, mom! ) cuz' she used to put CHUNKS of onions and green peppers in her meatloaf, and that's the LAST thing a kid wants to bite into at age 8!

 

[DemonLlama]

EWW EEWW EWWW

You've brought back painful memories now! Big chunks of onion and peppers and so much tomato sauce the thing was bleeding! You willl eat that or we will sit here all night! (OK, so there was all of two bites on my plate. . .still. . .) My childhood meatloaf swore me off of the stuff until a couple of years into marriage, desperate for something different, and my hubby always saying, "I really like meatloaf, how about that?" Luckily, I found a recipe without the gigantic chunks of childhood trauma.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

NO WAY! I just sat down and saw this thread. I have a meatloaf in the oven.

#1 My meatloaf has NO tomato paste, sauce or ketchup. (DHs heartburn)

I got this recipe from my mom. Its not great but its meatloaf eh?

Milk, crackers, egg, onion, parsley, salt, and hamburger.

I will be eyeballing the other recipes.

 

[mom2of2]

My meatloaf is a wee bit different from you all

I add egg, soy sauce, worchester, ketchup and a pack of lipton's onion soup mix and some parsley flakes and a wee bit of plain bread crumbs, I top it with A1.
I usually serve this with mashed taters and green beans.

For an Italian switch I skip the ketchup for spag sauce, italian bread crumbs instead of plain and oregano instead of parsley. I put spag sauce on the top and sprinkle some parm cheese on there too.
I serve this with spaghetti...a nice change from meatballs or sausage

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I like to take the shortcut using McCormick's meatloaf seasoning packet. All I do is add egg & bread crumbs.

The last loaf I made was with venison and I added Stove Top stuffing (another short cut) and an egg. Venison is more dry than beef, I should have added milk or something to moisten it.

 

[Cruisin]

I use onion soup mix, egg, oatmeal, and if the mixture seems too dry, put in a bit of juice, apple, orange, grape etc. for moisture

 

[phorsenuf]

This is too funny! I just sat down with my dinner to read the threads and guess what I am eating......Yep MEATLOAF!!!

I use about 20 ground up Ritz crackers, ketchup, Worcheshire sauce, BBQ sauce, one egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and some chives.

Tonights is exceptionally good! LOL

 

[Robinrs]

Mine is a combination of two friends of mine:

I use onion soup mix, egg, mesquite BBQ sauce and NO bread, never understood the reason for the extra carbs so I never used them, then I put one half in the pan, a layer of cheddar cheese, then the other half on top!

Even my Dad, who never liked ANYTHING I made, loved this meatloaf! And it's sooo easy! My son calls it the coooool cheeseburger!

 

[ToriLammy]

The secret to my meatloaf is not to make one large meatloaf but smaller individual meatloafs. I make the meatloaf recipe pretty much like everyone here (worschester sauce, egg, bread crumbs, etc) then form the individual meatloaves from that. A normal meatloaf receipe makes 4-5 individual loaves. This way I can personalize them, my daughter doesn't like onions so I make her's first - then add onions to the rest of the mix. DH and son like it a little spicier so I make mine next and then add more spices. Everyone is happy

 

[Kirby]

I love to eat meatloaf but never like the ones I make.