Meatloaf Recipe

 by canida
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Everyone loves meatloaf: it's easy, cheap, and delicious when made well, and there's nothing better than leftover meatloaf.  However, it's easy to come up with a dry, bland meatloaf undeserving of the name.  This recipe will solve your meatloaf problems for good: it's moist, delicious, and packed with flavor without overpowering the taste of good ground beef.

Despite the long ingredient list, this meatloaf is still quite speedy to assemble.  Feel free to tweak the ingredients and seasonings to fit your taste - all of my recipes are intended as a baseline or general guideline for you to use as a starting point.  I worked up this recipe by combining an old NYTimes recipe for Oliver Clark's Meatloaf (p. 554 of The Essential NYTimes Cookbook), my mom's recipe, and the contents of my refrigerator; it's going to be my own starting point over the next few years as well.  

This meatloaf gets high marks from both foodies like ewilhelm, and from hungry toddlers.  How can you go wrong?
 
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Step 1: Tools & Ingredients

Tools:
large mixing bowl
small fry pan
heatproof spatula
knife & cutting board
8x11 inch baking dish
oven

Ingredients:
small handful garlic (~10 cloves or to taste), finely minced
5 large white mushroom caps, stems removed, minced
1 1/2 onions, finely minced
1/2 onion, finely minced
3 Tablespoons cranberry dijon mustard (or regular dijon; this is just what I had)
1/2 cup ketchup
3 Tablespoons mayonnise
1/2 cup grated hard cheese (parmesan, dry jack, aged gouda, etc)
3 Tablespoons cream cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
5 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/3 cup dried breadcrumbs (I'm trying to use minimal breadcrumbs, but they help keep the loaf shape; you do need some)
1 Tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
3 eggs
2 pounds ground beef (~85% fat)
1 pound ground pork or mild pork sausage meat
 
(This Instructable's pictures actually show a 5-pound meatloaf, but I've scaled down to a more normal-sized recipe.  Scale away to fit your pan and crowd.)

Jayefuu says: Jan 14, 2013. 3:31 AM
I think I'm going to try this tonight :D
Jayefuu in reply to JayefuuJan 14, 2013. 12:17 PM
Mmmmm. That was excellent. Had with roast sweet potatoes and some tasty greens.
chipbuttiesandnoodlesoup says: Dec 14, 2012. 4:40 AM
another great recipe :) Can't wait to try it!
sunshiine says: Jul 19, 2012. 12:51 PM
I was sent over here to check out your fabulous meatloaf recipe! Oh my goodness this recipe sounds too good to be true! Thanks for sharing. I will be trying this as soon as I pick up the ingredients! Thanks for sharing!
Sunshiine
dreamberry says: May 14, 2012. 9:05 PM
This looks delicious. Makes me ashamed of my bachelor version one egg and two sleeves of saltines.
AussieAnglerGal says: Mar 26, 2012. 9:31 PM
ever eaten meatloaf in my life, but my family and i are thinking abort trying it, and this looks good :)
canida (author) in reply to AussieAnglerGalMar 29, 2012. 11:55 AM
Yay! Let me know how it goes.
AussieAnglerGal in reply to canidaMar 29, 2012. 3:46 PM
will do :)
cabbie89 says: Mar 29, 2012. 11:34 AM
Are the mushrooms neccessary for the reciepe. And if so can you taste the mushrooms..
Hate Mushrooms ....
:)
Looks yummy though and being british have never tried it. Going to make it for me and the fiance one night after work :)
canida (author) in reply to cabbie89Mar 29, 2012. 11:54 AM
By all means, skip the mushrooms!

Though in this recipe, they're cut small enough that you're not really getting a bite of mushroom flavor; it's more that they add to the general umami flavor, and help keep the meatloaf moist. If you remove the mushrooms, I'd increase the quantity of sauteed onions by about half an onion.
Jayefuu says: Mar 26, 2012. 8:07 PM
Having eaten this, I wholly agree with the first paragraph.
randofo says: Mar 26, 2012. 6:54 PM
That looks good. I would lean towards a heavy ketchup glaze myself, but I guess that's just me.
canida (author) in reply to randofoMar 26, 2012. 6:58 PM
Yes, you and my dad are both ketchup fiends. I understand, but can't condone.
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