Everyday Meatloaf

Submitted by CindiJ

"My sons loved meat loaf growing up. While all 3 were teenagers at home I would often double or triple this recipe for one meal. Even the one that hates onions loves this recipe. This recipe is from my mom's Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (1954)."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 2⁄3 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground chuck
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1⁄3 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon sage
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground pepper

• Topping

• 1⁄4 cup brown sugar
• 1⁄4 cup catsup
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

directions

1. Soak bread crumbs in milk.
2. Add beaten eggs, seasonings, onion (process in food processor to puree for picky eaters).
3. Mix together well.
4. With hands, gently add ground chuck and mix together lightly.
5. Place in loaf pan sprayed with PAM.
6. Bake in 350º oven 45-50 minutes.
7. Prepare topping in small bowl.
8. Pour over meat loaf during last 15 minutes of baking time.
9. *The more you handle the ground beef during the making of meat loaf the tougher it becomes.
10. **Edited - For different texture and taste sautee onion in a bit (1 Tablespoon +/-) of butter. Add 1/2 cup grated carrots (sautee with the onions) for a little extra punch of color and flavor.

Reviews

[Lacemaker427 .]

This truly delicious meatloaf was my mother-in-law's go-to recipe for a quick, family comfort food dinner. I've made a few alterations that I think really amp up the flavor and texture. 1- America's Test Kitchen recommends adding a tiny bit of baking soda to ground beef recipes that cook for a long time. It changes the pH just enough to avoid any trace of the dreaded rubbery texture inherent in so many recipes (like rubber meatballs). You'll never taste it in the finished meatloaf, and it truly does as advertised. 2- The star flavor in this recipe is the nutmeg in the piquant sauce, so I use 2 tablespoons of nutmeg, but I add it to a quadrupled quantity of the other piquant sauce ingredients. Prior to this change, I had to police the family -- making sure none them scraped off the top of the meatloaf when I wasn't looking to get a larger portion of piquant sauce for themselves! Now, I have extra to serve at the table, and no one is tempted to make a piggy of the self,...but just in case, I keep it in front of me! 3- PREP: I prefer a free-formed meatloaf baked on a rack covered with foil and punctured with a toothpick or skewer about every 1/2 inch to 1 inch -- so the fat can drain away from the meatloaf. To make clean-up quicker, I set the punctured rack in a sheet pan that I've covered with foil. BAKING: A meatloaf formed into a ring has more surface area for more piquant sauce (yum!), and it cooks quickly and evenly. For Valentine's Day, I form it in the shape of a heart. To get the perfect done ness, I use a digital thermometer set to alarm at 155° -- easy. My family likes this meatloaf served with roasted salt & vinegar potato wedges and steamed carrots. Add an unfrosted applesauce cake, and it's 1960 again!

 

[Toadflax]

I can't see how this got such a very negative review. It's meatloaf, and a very good one. My family gave it a thumbs up. Sauce is delicious. Perhaps the reviewer put the meat in the food processor too and made it way too dense. In any case, don't serve anything to guests if you haven't tried it first.

 

[Chef shapeweaver]

I made this recipe on Dec.6th.for the " Bargain Basement Event " in the Cooking Games Forum. I did make a couple of changes to the recipe and they are as follows, the amount of onions were upped to 1/2 cup. Also, 1/2 cup of finely chopped celery was added with the onion then saute' d in a bit of margarine until softened.Then I continued with the recipe as it was written. The last change was, instead of putting into a loaf pan the meatloaf was free- formed and placed in a rectangular baking dish and baked at the suggested baking temp.(If free-forming, I would suggest adding a bit more bread crumbs to hold the shape of the loaf better.) Even with me free-forming, the amount of topping was perfect for this loaf. After letting "rest " for a few minutes, it sliced very well. And I consider myself a " Meatloaf Expert " :) and I have to tell you, " This is one of the best meatloaves that I've ever had ". Thank you for posting such a " Classic Comfort Food " recipe. " Keep Smiling :) "

 

[jsgrammyof3]

I have been making this for years, the original recipe called for 1 pound of ground beef and 1/2 pound pork sausage. I also saute the onion. It has been a family favorite for 40 years!

 

[chktrk]

This has been our meatloaf recipe for over 20 years. Simple, moist and delicious. The topping is the best!