meat loaf
I’m currently eating some meatloaf my mom made and I feel compelled to share this with the internet at large for reasons that are unclear to me. It is not good, but it was a better-than-average attempt by someone who doesn’t cook much. The recipe calls for ¼ cup of water (?) per pound of ground beef which – look – just use broth or stock. This only makes sense if you think “water” means “dry seasoning packet.” Oh man oh god why do people write these things like they were written in the first person as if somebody had actually done all this? It looks so stupid on paper!
Yeah that is a weird recipe, here’s the one my family uses in case you need a new one:
3 lbs ground beef (usually 91% lean)
3-4 eggs
½ chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
Some grated parmesan cheese
½ c or more of bread crumbs plus extra
½ c or more of barbecue sauce
Mix all ingredients (easier with mixer, but can be mixed by hand)
Spread in pan and form into loaf
Cover with barbecue sauce and sprinkle with more bread crumbs
Bake at 350F for about 1-1.5 hours until meat thermometer registers 165F throughout.
Thanks! I’ll probably try this one in a few days. (I think it sounds better than the “recipe” above, but only marginally.)
That said – and I’m sure you know all about this already – there is no single recipe that will produce meatloaf for everyone. The most important thing to remember when making any meatloaf is that there are two basic categories of people: those who like their meatloaf moist, and those who don’t.
People who like their meatloaf moist tend to use more breadcrumbs/dry ingredients as well as some kind of liquid, typically tomato sauce or broth. Those who prefer dry meatloaf may want to increase the amount of beef a little bit relative to other ingredients, although they still need enough juices from the ground beef itself to keep things from getting too dry. They can also put the loaf under foil at the beginning so that the top crust isn’t overcooked. This is what my family does; we have no idea how many eggs or onions our friends would want with us because they always ask for extra egg and breadcrumbs :)







