My mum used to make meatloaf when I was a kid:)

This was a broth: meat and vegetables cooked slowly in stock which then becomes a thick gravy. It's quite gloopy. Not remotely loaflike. If done to a drier consistency it then becomes a 'hash'.

I like bell peppers and onions in my meat loaf. Baked with a thick ketchup based topping.
I cook them in the microwave and brown with the oven broiler.
Fav sides: Mashed potatoes and garden peas. (my mom calls them English peas). What's up with that?

I haven't had a good meatloaf in years.

, ooh, fun, hot, and debased! my kind of food!

good meatloaf is yum! crappy meatloaf is scary.

Yeah, bad meatloaf is bland and dull. Its perpetrators should be ductaped to kitchen chairs and made to eat the entire thing.

Then they should be untaped (the hard way if you're feeling mean -- rrrrrippp!) and served a small portion of a meatloaf with a flavor in it. And a touch of juiciness, possibly provided by a gravy content...

Chopped onion, yes. Even BBQ sauce as topping if you don't care for ketchup, which will concentrate in the baking, producing something like a ketchup beyond ketchup. And then there are the people who bake some bacon slices over the top.

Meatloaf came up on a thread UT had... he was looking for particularly fine meatloaf for company some months back.

I now have theories. I believe that the meat combination should be ground beef only, no other types. I believe that 80-20 or 85-15 (meat/fat percentage) are actually better than having less fat content. Bread crumbs are fine. I believe that the ground meat should not be very firmly packed, as we are not producing sausage, and that we should accept that the meat may fall apart on the plate a little. I believe that onion must be involved but that it should be chopped very, very finely. Pepper is right out, except for black pepper which must be included. I believe that garlic mashed potatoes and corn are the ideal accompaniments. I believe there are other spices or herbs which may help produce good results but that I haven't done much experimentation. Perhaps thyme or sage.

I also add a little egg to my meatloaf to help hold it together, and I make it into a loaf and cook it in the center of a lasagna pan so the juices can escape. I do not pack it into a bread pan for baking.

Any thoughts on the pan?

I cook it that way too glatt. I add egg also. Mom uses a bread pan. Meatloaf, like pizza and chili, can be made so many different ways. Part of their charm.

So I went to the cafeteria and instead of getting my typical salad I got the meatloaf special they are running today. I was happy because since I visited this thread this morning I've been craving meatloaf.

It's not too bad. :)

I've found that when I'm craving meatloaf, what I'm usually actually craving is ketchup. Meatloaf with barbecue sauce is worthless to me.

You know, they put a gravy on it that if I had my druthers would have been ketchup instead.

Still, not bad for school food.

Ix-nay the etchup-kay.
BBQ sauce, A-1, maybe a good concentrated marinara, a hoisin sauce, even a mustard/mayo combo. But no ketchup. :yeldead:

I like a little bit of pork in the meatloaf mix. I add quite a bit of breadcrumb and a bit of milk. And sauteed minced onion. Other spicing depends on the 'theme' of the meatloaf.

I do an awesome Thai green curry turkey meatloaf. With jasmine rice and stir-fried veggies.

I made meatloaf for the first time ever a couple of months back and it was a hit with the family. I just used ground beef (very lean) and put some herbs (parsley, chives, shallotts) and spices (salt, pepper, cracked chilli and a couple of others) in along with some onion and garlic, some evaporated milk, an egg and some breadcrumbs. I served it with a beef stock gravy which the boys then added bbq sauce to.

I've made it twice more since then and it's as popular as ever. I never thought I'd like it, but I do.

Last night I made spaghetti and meatballs. that was a hit too.

I use a 50/50 mix of Italian sausage and ground beef for my meatballs. A just a little breadcrumbs.

Hey, wow, Pie, could you favor us with the recipe? Sounds like something the wife would like, and we tend to underutilize ground bird. Need to get more imaginative.

[Woo! Post #300!]