I’ve been using this recipe, 80/20 mix, but the last few times it tended to crumble and not be as moist as I expected. Wish I knew why. Maybe I overcooked?
I understand adding baking soda can help? How about adding extra rendered fat, bacon fat, beef fat, etc.
Or maybe another recipe? Doesn’t have to be fancy.
dump the beef / pork mixture. anytime I have given into such recipes, , , produced nothing but a disaster.
I use 85/15 ground beef, some fat is required. 80/20 also works well.
one egg per pound of beef for a binder
beefy-onion dry soup mix for seasoning; half a packet per pound
diced stale bread cubes - not ‘crumbs’ of any kind.
Another Recipe for sure. Whatever Recipe that you find it should definitely contain a Panade in some for or another.
My favorite Meat Loaf is from Germany and is called Falscher Hase
I’ve made this one for years. Beef and pork mixture works fine in it, good texture, clean taste. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16354/easy-meatloaf/
Ina Garten’s meatloaf. I use ground chuck. The plethora of chopped onions keep it nice and moist.
Add some minced sea cucumbers into meatloaf mix.
You can thank me later.
I once made the mistake of embedding a couple of hot links in a meatloaf using Mrs. ricepad’s family recipe. It was delicious, but Mrs. ricepad ripped me a new one for messing with tradition. I haven’t made meatloaf since - I leave that to Mrs. ricepad. As delicious as it was, I don’t need that kind of aggravation in my life. You’d have thought I’d drawn a moustache and Groucho glasses on the Mona Lisa!
This is what I grew up with and still make from time to time:
As I’ve gotten older, I am more inclined to:
a) make it freeform on top of a broiler pan that will allow the loaf to drain , so a crust can form
b) use 85/15 beef or 80/20 beef in place of the “lean” called for
c) I prefer to cook any veg that is incorporated now before mixing it into the loaf (looking at you, onions)
BF actually prefers mustard to tomato product in the loaf, so sometimes I mix that in instead of the juice or sauce called for.
Ultimately for meatloaf, you need:
I have been using this one for 20+ years, also with oatmeal
A few weeks ago I subbed miso BBQ sauce when I didn’t have ketchup and it was well received.
I usually wing it and do without a recipe. But it’s almost always 1 to 2 pounds of ground beef depending on how many people I’m serving, throw in a bunch of sautéed chopped veg, like onion, carrot, bell pepper, garlic celery. Add in some kind of starch, whether it be old breads ends or breadcrumbs or even the leftover cereal at the very bottom of the bag. Throw in a little bit of something saucy like ketchup or mustard or barbecue sauce or some combination. And then free form so it gets that nice crust. Always turns out, always delicious.
I’ve always used a beef/pork mix. But until a few days ago when I was in Smith’s Food and Drug, I had never seen it labeled as “Ground Bork” before. Seeing that word/name gave me bad flashbacks of Robert Bork, though. 
That one looks good too! I’ve also subbed salsa for ketchup or tomato sauce.
Not meatloaf per se, but I make Japanese hamburg steaks that are extremely similar. A cheat I picked up from a website is to add soft/silken tofu. I use a relatively high ratio, but if you were using a pound of meat (or mixture), I’d use a good half to 3/4 of the block of tofu (think of the Morinaga soft pack tofus as reference - about 10-11oz). I’d recommend at least using at least 1/4 of that block to ensure moistness.
It not only makes the mixture soft and moist, it also adds nice protein in there too, so it’s not just filler.
Sounds like Korean wanja jeon, which are half meat half tofu.
Interesting! I’ve never had those, but they look delicious (the ones on Maangchi’s site). Her recipe squeezes out excess water though, and I don’t bother with that for my hamburg steaks.
I would venture a guess that’s where the tip might have originated.
That said, the tofu does dilute the meatiness, vs using a panade of some sort (bread, oats, whatever).
My forever meatloaf recipe, from Ian Knauer.
Beef, pork, ground bacon, and the secret ingredient that makes the whole thing.
Could be, but it was found on a blog from a Japanese chef whose tip was for making hamburg steak. My personal taste is that the beefiness should be ok, as long as the tofu ratio is not too heavy I use more than what the chef recommended, and I still think the taste is fairly beefy ( but the dish does also use a sauce that calls for using beef broth to make a sauce). I still add panko/bread crumbs to mine too.
Have you ever tried any other fruit?
I’m not a big prune guy.
there’s no prune taste. it’s a moisture play. you would literally never know unless someone told you they were in there (ask me how I know.)
that said, the recipe is strong enough that I’d recommend it without the prunes.
