Jerry's Meatloaf

Submitted by SrtaMaestra

"This is the meatloaf recipe that I make all the time. It's a combination of the meatloaf my mom always used made at home, my grandma's hamburgers (which she always made with onion soup mix), and the meatloaf recipe on the back of the onion soup mix boxes, along with a few additions of my own. It's named after my late father-in-law, as it was his favorite, and I made it for him often. Since it makes a big loaf, we'd often take leftovers to him, or invite him over for dinner. If he felt I hadn't made it recently enough, he'd drop off a pound of ground beef and ask me to mix up a batch that he could bake for himself. I've never understood the draw of meatloaf sandwiches, but Jerry said this meatloaf made great sandwiches! The real 'secret' ingredient that makes this 'pop' is the sauce on top. My husband thought it was BBQ sauce the first time I made it! He insists that I make extra sauce to add to the meatloaf at the table! This, along with the oatmeal, came from my mom's meatloaf that I learned to mix up at a young age while my parents were doing chores in the barn. It was tough to put measurements on the sauce, because I've always just dumped and tasted, but I made myself measure when I made this last time. The problem is, my photo was taken of reheated leftovers the next day, so it's not quite as good as the fresh meatloaf! Our favorite way to serve this is with mashed potatoes and any green vegetable, whether it be broccoli, peas, or grean beans. A basic brown gravy on the potatoes, bumping into the ketchup sauce on the juicy meatloaf...mmmmm. I think I'm drooling just thinking about it! True comfort food! Preparation time includes 1 hour chill time before baking."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• Meatloaf

• 680.38-907.18 g lean ground chuck
• 35.43 g envelope onion soup mix
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 177.44 ml quick-cooking oatmeal
• 118.29 ml ketchup
• 14.79 ml Worcestershire sauce
• 29.58 ml barbecue sauce
• water, if needed

• Sauce

• 118.29 ml ketchup
• 59.14 ml light brown sugar
• 22.18 ml yellow mustard

directions

1. Crumble ground chuck into a large bowl.
2. Sprinkle onion soup mix over meat. Mix together with wooden spoon (or dig in and use your hands).
3. Add remaining meatloaf ingredients and mix well. Using your hands, while messy, works the best!
4. Add a little water (up to 1/4 cup) if the mixture seems too dry. This depends on the moisture content of the ground chuck & your own personal preference.
5. If possible, refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight, before baking, to allow the flavors to blend.
6. Shape meat into a wide, flat loaf, and place in a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray (makes cleanup easier).
7. Bake at 350 for 1/2 hour.
8. Meanwhile, combine sauce ingredients and mix well. Spread a thin layer of the sauce over the meatloaf after baking 1/2 hour.
9. Return meatloaf to oven for about 1/2 hour, or until done. The loaf will be more firm when done. If in doubt, cut in half and check to make sure it isn't pink in the center.
10. Serve hot, topped with more of the ketchup sauce, if desired.

Reviews

[Hissy Hussy]

Delicious! This meatloaf is full of flavor and is also tender and juicy. Loved the sauce too.

 

[BizMack]

This meatloaf is fantastic!! I thought my mom's was delicious, but this is IT! We love the flavor, especially that the onion soup mix brings. It's moist, flavorful and a perfect meatloaf. I don't put the sauce on top, and it's perfect.

 

[Margie99]

This was so good. I doulbed the recipe and put one in the freezer. I also think the sauce was good but the meatloaf was good enough that it didn't need any extra. i put it into a loaf pan and only used about half the sauce on the meatloaf and took the rest to the table. We had it with baked potatoes and sauted green beans. Yum, thanks for posting.

 

[mailbelle]

We loved this!! DH always knows when I try a new recipe on Zaar that I'm going to ask his opinion on a scale from 1 to 5 stars. I didn't even get the chance to ask - he started eating and said, "Oh baby, this is definitely a 5-star!" It was so nice and moist and not too ketchupy like other meatloaf recipes I've tried. And I love the sauce. Served it with recipe#172068 and recipe#78204. Will definitely be making this again! Thanks for posting!!

 

[CoffeeB]

I love this recipe for the simple fact that I could make it the night b/f to let the flavors meld together and pop in the oven the next day. It took 1 hour of baking time as you specified and the only difference I made to your recipe was by putting it into a loaf pan. Perfect. Loved the flavor combinations together. And the sauce was just the perfect combination of tangy/sweet. I too did as you suggested in your forward about making it w/mashed potatoes and green beans. Made for a great sunday dinner for the fam. Thanks for sharing your family's recipe. I loved reading your story!!~ Made for PRMR.