what temperature and how long to cook meatloaf

How To Brand Meatloaf from Scratch

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(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

Roughly one time a year — correct about at present, equally information technology so happens — I become a sudden and very urgent hankering for meatloaf. 1 day, information technology'southward stuffed squash and warm grain salads and beef stews, and the next day, all I can retrieve nearly is meatloaf. Tender, savory bites of meatloaf glazed with (yes, of all things) ketchup. If you have been scarred by dry or tasteless meatloaf in a past life, it'southward time to revisit this classic. Hither'southward how to make the most tender, most tasty meatloaf you lot can imagine.

(Paradigm credit: Emma Christensen)

The Basic Meatloaf Formula

All recipes for meatloaf get-go with the same basic formula: 2 pounds of ground meat and a "panade" made of bread or crackers soaked in milk. Along with a few eggs, this panade helps to hold the basis meat together and adds some essential moisture to the mix. Don't worry — your meatloaf won't gustation like bread, but you'll definitely miss it if it's not there!

The Meat

Any footing meat can be used to make meatloaf: beef, pork, veal, or lamb. Yous tin use just i kind of meat, or you tin mix a few different kinds together to give your meatloaf different flavors and textures. Personally, I love a mix of about 70% beef (for its season) and thirty% pork (for its fat richness). You definitely desire a bit of fatty in your mix and so the meatloaf doesn't end up dry and crumbly. I usually look for a beef that's just lxxx% to 85% lean.

The Veggies

A mirepoix made of pocket-size-diced onions, carrots, and celery is classic here, merely you can bandy some or all of those veggies for whatsoever of your favorites: mushrooms, more carrots, peas, even broccoli. Whatever vegetables yous use, be sure to cook them before they go into the meatloaf so they're tender and toothsome rather than crunchy.

(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

The Glaze

Call me quondam-fashioned, but I beloved a swath of good ol' ketchup on my meatloaf. The ketchup concentrates during cooking, creating a flossy, ultra-tomato-y glaze that pairs perfectly with the deep savory nature of the meatloaf. If you're non a ketchup fan, you tin utilize your favorite BBQ sauce or any other sauce you find appealing. You can besides skip the glaze altogether and drapery the meatloaf with strips of bacon earlier cooking — every bit we know, bacon makes everything better and that certainly holds true here.

A Last Notation

The last piece of the puzzle to making a fantastic meatloaf is 2-fold: cooking time and letting it rest. A 2-pound meatloaf will reliably cook in nigh an 60 minutes — endeavor not to overcook or the meat will start getting tough and crumbly. The best way to know when a meatloaf is done is by checking its internal temperature; as soon as it hits 155°F, you can pull it from the oven. Letting it residue for a few minutes before you piece and serve also gives the juices inside the meatloaf fourth dimension to redistribute and settle, only like when you're cooking a steak or a roast. If y'all slice the loaf too rapidly, the tasty juices puddle out and leave the meatloaf dry.

Here'due south how to brand the most tender, nearly tasty meatloaf you tin imagine.

• shellfish-free
• kidney-friendly
• alcohol-free
• low-potassium
• peanut-free
• sugar-conscious
• tree-nut-free
• soy-free
• low-carb

Per serving, based on

20

servings. (% daily value)

• Calories 330
• Fat 32.1 g (49.v%)
• Saturated 16.iii g (81.7%)
• Carbs 5.2 g (one.vii%)
• Fiber 0.5 g (one.nine%)
• Sugars i.0 m
• Poly peptide 4.5 thou (9.one%)
• Sodium 162.4 mg (vi.8%)

Ingredients

• i loving cup

  torn-upward breadstuff pieces, or 1/2 loving cup bread crumbs

• 1/ii cup

  whole or two% milk

• one

  small onion, diced modest

• i

  pocket-size carrot, peeled and diced pocket-size

• one

  stalk celery, diced small

• two to 3 cloves

  garlic, minced

• i/two teaspoon

  dried thyme

• 1 tablespoon

  tomato paste

• 2 pounds

  ground meat, such every bit beefiness, pork, veal, lamb, or a mix

• 2

  large eggs, browbeaten

• 2 teaspoons

  Worcestershire sauce

• ane teaspoon

  salt

• Pepper to gustation

• 1/2 cup

  ketchup, bbq sauce, or other sauce to coat (optional)

• 8 ounces

  salary (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Arrange a rack in the bottom third of the oven, and rut to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or other baking dish with aluminum foil.

2. Soak the breadstuff pieces in the milk. Combine the staff of life pieces and the milk in a modest basin. Allow stand until the staff of life has broken downward into a thick porridge, occasionally stirring and mushing the bread against the sides of the bowl. Y'all tin can leave the crusts on the bread or trim them off before soaking; if you get out them on, remove any large pieces that oasis't broken downwards afterwards soaking.

3. Melt the veggies. Rut a few teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the diced onions, carrots, and celery. Cook until the onions are translucent and the carrots have softened, half dozen to 8 minutes. If the vegetables begin to chocolate-brown, turn down the heat. Add together the garlic and stir until fragrant, virtually 30 seconds. Add together the thyme and tomato plant paste, and stir until coated. Remove from estrus and allow cool slightly.

4. Brand the meatloaf mix. Place the ground meat, browbeaten eggs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, soaked bread and milk, and cooked vegetables in a big bowl. Working speedily, use your easily to work the ingredients together until but combined.

5. Shape the loaf. Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the foil-lined baking sheet or baking dish. Shape it into a crude 9x5-inch loaf. (If using a loaf pan, but pat the meatloaf mixture into the pan.)

6. Coat the loaf with ketchup or bacon (optional). Spread 1/iv cup of the ketchup mixture over the meatloaf (reserve the other i/4 cup for later on). Alternatively, curtain the loaf with bacon slices.

7. Bake for 45 minutes. Bake the meatloaf for 45 minutes.

8. Broil for another 10 to 15 minutes. Spread the remaining 1/four loving cup ketchup over the loaf. Bake until the middle of the loaf registers at least 155°F on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes more (about 1 60 minutes total).

9. Cool fifteen minutes before serving. Let the loaf cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. If you baked the meatloaf in a loaf pan, carefully drain off the liquid fat before transferring the meatloaf to a make clean cut lath. Cut into thick slices and serve.

Recipe Notes

Meatballs: This same recipe tin can be used to make meatballs instead of a loaf (though I usually exit out the carrots).

Storage: Leftovers will proceed refrigerated for up to 1 calendar week, or tin can be wrapped and frozen for upward to 3 months.

(Epitome credit: Emma Christensen)

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Emma Christensen

Contributor

Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the writer of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories.

jonesbece2002.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-meatloaf-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-197077

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