Most definitions of a “Meatloaf” get the basic outline technically correct: (1) ground meat, (2) with other ingredients, (3) and seasonings, (4) baked in the shape of a loaf. By changing the last part of that definition to (4) formed into patties and pan-fried, you have essentially defined “Hamburger Steak.” Since I don’t believe that the difference in cooking methods fully explains the differences in expectations between “Meatloaf” and “Hamburger Steak,” I think it is worth spending some time examining the components of a meatloaf in some detail.
I would argue that there is no gold standard for meatloaf – so when people say they love meatloaf, what they really mean is that they love a particular version of meatloaf from their past experience (e.g. my mom’s meatloaf or that Wednesday special meatloaf down at Joe’s Diner). Some people are fortunate enough to have a reliable recipe they can use to make the meatloaf they love. This blog entry is addressed to everyone else.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world” -Mahatma Gandhi
On a smaller, more meatloaf-centric scale, I would like to help readers understand meatloaves in a way that will place them in charge of their own meatloaf destiny.
“Make the meatloaf you wish to eat in the world” -Stephen Eure
To put you in the meatloaf driver’s seat, I think it is useful to deconstruct all meatloaves into conceptual parts so we can discuss variations and their results. Once you understand the components, you will be better equipped to use the ingredients you like to make the meatloaf you love.
OK, without further ado, let’s start things off with a seven-part meatloaf rubric:
–Ground Meat
–Savory Ingredients (Onions and stuff)
–Seasonings (Salt & Pepper and stuff)
–Eggs
–Bread & Milk (called a Panade)
–Glaze (Ketchup or what-not)
–“…roll it up, roll it up, put it in a pan; and toss it in the oven as fast as you can!” and bake.
Part 1 – Ground Meat – 2 lb.
Notes: Most recipes for meatloaf start with about 2 lb. of ground meat which yields 6-8 good servings (recipes that claim 10 servings have never tried to feed my family!). Choices for the ground meat include beef, pork, lamb, veal, and poultry. Historically, meatloaves started with a combination of beef, pork, and veal – typically either 1/3 each or 1/2 beef and 1/4 each of pork and veal – many large chain grocery stores sell a meatloaf mix of ground beef, pork, and veal measured out to weigh 2 lb. My own experience has been that it is difficult to get a meatloaf with good taste and texture from a single ground meat – using only beef seems to make a meatloaf that tastes too “hamburger-y” – using just poultry yields a meatloaf that is too dense and dry – using just pork or veal or lamb gives you a meatloaf with insufficient flavor and a texture that is too soft. Whenever I can find a meatloaf mix in the store, I stick with that – I think the combination of beef, pork, and veal is a winner. Whenever I don’t have the luxury of using a meatloaf mix, I typically use 1/2 beef and 1/2 pork or 1/2 beef and 1/2 poultry (i.e. 1 lb. each).
Notes on beef: Meatloaf mix aside, whenever I am buying separate ground meats for a meatloaf, I’m usually going to be including 1 lb. of ground beef. For the right texture and flavor, I recommend staying away from the low-fat ground beef and staying away from the ground round (I’m not sure what the deal is with ground round, but I have never tasted a satisfying meatloaf made with it). I stick with the 75-85% lean ground chuck. Having some fat in your ground beef is a key consideration in producing a great meatloaf.
Part 2 – Savory Ingredients – 1 small onion, finely chopped + other stuff within reason
Notes: Just about every meatloaf recipe ever composed includes some onion. Other common ingredients include some or all of the following: celery, garlic, carrots, green/red/yellow pepper. For such an unpresumptuous list of flavor components, there is amazing variation in amounts and proportions for these items. I can sum-up my prejudices for using savory items as three guidelines: (1) keep your total savory item input to somewhere between 1/2 Cup and 3/4 Cup (any more than that and the vegetables tend interfere with the meatloaf holding together after baking), (2) let the onion be the predominant ingredient (i.e. no matter what combination you choose to use here, make sure that the onion makes-up at least half of that combination), & (3) saute your savories first (this softens the crunchier vegetables and makes the difference between “ummmm…nice flavor” and “wow…you really can taste the onion in this”).
Notes on taste versus texture: Take a stand here for what you like! Using carrots seems to be en vogue right now in many of the meatloaf recipes I see posted. Green peppers seemed to be present in most of the meatloaves of my childhood and youth. Some recipes use zucchini or yellow squash. Whatever. Surely you can find a combination of savory items that suits your taste. As a textural consideration, even though little diced cubes of celery, carrot, and pepper can be attractive in a slice of meatloaf, their crunch can be a distraction – consider grating any celery, carrot, or pepper that you use (and always, always saute them first).
Part 3 – Seasonings – Salt & Pepper + other stuff within reason
Notes: Here’s your opportunity to control taste and aroma. Salt and Pepper are required – everything else is negotiable – in general, I think “less is more.” Every recipe for meatloaf betrays the individual preferences of the cook who wrote the recipe – let the same be true for you. I use 2 tsp. salt + 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper – that would probably be considered “aggressive” by most recipe standards – I think that using 1 tsp. or less of salt to season 2 lb. of ground meat is insufficient and using 3 tsp. (= 1 Tbsp.) or more of salt is too much – pepper is more a matter of individual taste (it isn’t possible to use too much pepper for my taste – that’s not the case for most people who eat my cooking). Other common seasonings in meatloaves include: Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chopped flatleaf parsley, fresh or dried thyme, Italian seasoning, and tomato paste – some, or even all, of these ingredients are fine within reason.
Part 4 – Eggs – 2 Large
Notes: Eggs help bind the baked meatloaf and are a crucial component to the mix.
Part 5 – Panade – Starch (usually breadcrumbs) + Liquid (usually milk)
Notes: The panade is the structural engineer of any meatloaf. It keeps the meatloaf moist by holding onto the moisture extruded by the cooked protein in the ground meat – it also helps a meatloaf hold its shape. For a starch, most recipes use one of the following: bread, breadcrumbs, panko, cracker crumbs, or oatmeal. For the liquid, most recipes use milk – some recipes call for tomato sauce or chicken broth – again, a matter of taste. The ratio of liquid to starch should be roughly 4 oz. to 2 oz. – 4 oz. of liquid = 1/2 Cup of liquid – 2 oz. of starch = either 2 slices of bread torn into cubes or 1/2 Cup dried breadcrumbs or 1/2 Cup panko or 2/3 Cup saltine cracker crumbs or 3/4 Cup instant oatmeal. The choice of starch here exerts some influence over the texture of the finished meatloaf – the choice of liquid can influence the flavor. I find that using dried breadcrumbs, panko, or oatmeal makes for a denser meatloaf – cubes of sliced bread or cracker crumbs makes for a less dense meatloaf. Whatever choice I make, I mix the starch and liquid before doing any other meatloaf assembly to give the starch time to soak-up some of the liquid.
Part 6 – Glaze – Ketchup or what-not – 1 to 1 1/4 Cup
Notes: The glaze for a meatloaf is usually some form of tangy tomato-based product – the majority of options for the glaze fall into three categories: (1) 1 Cup of ketchup or BBQ sauce straight out of the bottle, (2) 1 Cup of ketchup or BBQ sauce augmented with 1/4 Cup of cider vinegar and 1/4 Cup of brown sugar, & (3) 1 Cup of ketchup or BBQ sauce augmented with 1/4 Cup of cider vinegar and 1/4 Cup of brown sugar and some Tabasco or Sriracha or other hot sauce. The augmented options are a little more fluid. I have never seen a restaurant meatloaf made with BBQ sauce as a glaze – some recipes mention it as an option – I think it makes a wonderful meatloaf but would insist on buy-in from my guests before deciding to use it as my go-to glaze. Similarly, I love the taste of a spicy glaze, but most of my friends think of it as an assault to their meatloaf sensibilities.
Part 7 – Mixing + Baking
Notes: Nope…we’re not done with the variations in approach yet. I think most recipes agree that baking a meatloaf in an unmodified loaf pan is disastrous – you’ll get a bubbling and greasy mess. Your best choices are to use either a meatloaf loaf pan (the one with the insert that lifts out and allows the grease to drain to the bottom of the pan) or to bake your meatloaf as a free-form loaf in a sheet pan. I used a meatloaf loaf pan for years and only recently started using a sheet pan because I hated cleaning the loaf pan. The baking part of the meatloaf method involves making three decisions: (1) to bake at 350° or 375° F?, (2) to glaze from the start or to glaze after allowing some crust to form on the top of the meatloaf?, and (3) to finish-off by broiling or not? As for the first decision, I think it is more important to focus on cooking the meat to an internal temperature of 155°-160° F than it is to obsess over the 350°/375° F oven temperature issue – pick one temperature and stick with it and determine when the meatloaf is done by using an instant read thermometer (plan for around an hour of baking). The issue of when to glaze is a matter of personal preference – when I used a meatloaf loaf pan, I always glazed from the start – now that I bake a free-form meatloaf in a sheet pan, I glaze after the naked meatloaf has baked for 30 minutes or so. Finally, some people like to broil their meatloaf briefly after it has finished cooking to aggressively caramelize the glaze – it’s a matter of taste.
Variation 1 – Cheese – Some people love having cheese baked into their meatloaf. As a basic guideline for this option, it’s safe to mix-in between 3/4 Cup and 1 Cup of shredded cheese before shaping and baking your meatloaf. Softer, milder cheeses like mozzarella and mild cheddar work better than harder, stronger cheeses.
Variation 2 – Meatballs – Spoiler alert: meatballs are basically ball-shaped meatloaves without any glaze. If you want to make some meatballs, follow through with the same design considerations – just omit the glaze, roll your meat mixture into golf-ball sized spheres, and bake them on a sheet pan until they reach an internal temperature of 155°-160° F (plan on something like 20-30 minutes).
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Putting it All Together – Thinking My Way Through a Glazed Meatloaf
–Bread & Milk (called a Panade) – Mix this up first.
–Glaze (Ketchup or what-not) – Mixed this up next.
–Ground Meat
–Seasonings (Salt & Pepper and stuff)
–Eggs
–Savory Ingredients (Onions and stuff) – Sauteed a small onion for about 5 minutes + added 2 cloves of minced garlic to the saute for about 30 seconds.
Notes on mixing – There’s no way around it: use your hands. Avoid clenching the meat mix in your fists – don’t be angry with your meatloaf! I try to keep my fingers extended and mix everything with something of a two-handed raking motion.
–“…roll it up, roll it up, put it in a pan; and toss it in the oven as fast as you can!” and bake.
Meatloaf Recipe Outline Based on the Guidelines Above:
2 lb. Ground Meat – Choose at least 2 types: beef, pork, veal, lamb, poultry
Savory Ingredients – A small onion + maybe some of the following: celery, garlic, carrot, pepper – saute first
Seasonings – Salt + Pepper + maybe some of the following: Dijon, Worchestershire, flat-leaf parsley, dried seasoning, tomato paste
2 Eggs
Panade – 1/2 Cup milk or broth or tomato sauce + 2 oz. starch: bread slices, dried bread crumbs, panko, cracker crumbs, oatmeal
Glaze – Ketchup or BBQ Sauce – possibly augmented with cider vinegar and brown sugar – possibly spiced with hot sauce
Bake
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