Meatloaf

I've been making meatloaf a lot recently, and I don't know why, but the recipes I use don't seem as good anymore.  I'm having a dry issue for some reason.  I omitted onion a long time ago, since none of us like it in meatloaf.  But I don't think that could be it since it didn't affect it right away.

If people would not mind posting their recipes, I'd really appreciate it.

For both Turkey and Beef.

Last week was a bit better when I decided to add ketchup and MAYO into the recipe.  It was a lot better, but still not great!

Thank you!

I use a recipe (I won't post it since it has dried onion soup as a main ingredient and you don't like onion!), but it uses half a can of cream of mushroom soup. It's always really moist. I know my cousin didn't have cream of mushroom soup in the house, so she used cream of potato soup and she said it was delicious with the little bits of potato throughout the loaf!

I use a recipe (I won't post it since it has dried onion soup as a main ingredient and you don't like onion!), but it uses half a can of cream of mushroom soup. It's always really moist. I know my cousin didn't have cream of mushroom soup in the house, so she used cream of potato soup and she said it was delicious with the little bits of potato throughout the loaf!

I noticed a lot of recipes I saw on-line used the onion soup mix.  Ohh, I happen to have a leftover can of cream of mushroom, I'll try it! Can you send it anyway, or post it here   Thank you!

Have you started buying "good" mince?  You need a certain fat content in the meat to get a moist loaf (unless you add things like soup or mayo.)  For meatloaf I think the cheaper mince makes a much nicer loaf than the more expensive minced steak.

Have you started buying "good" mince?  You need a certain fat content in the meat to get a moist loaf (unless you add things like soup or mayo.)  For meatloaf I think the cheaper mince makes a much nicer loaf than the more expensive minced steak.

Hmm, I think we've always used the good stuff Sainsbury's Taste the Diff.   I looked at the package and it still seems to have a lot of fat (16 per serving)  But maybe it should be more? Thank you!!!

Funny thing, I never thought to use mayo before, just occurred to me that it might help.  And the husband who hates mayo, seemed to love it!  It was a very "I'm proud of myself moment" as I don't cook much

Have you started buying "good" mince?  You need a certain fat content in the meat to get a moist loaf (unless you add things like soup or mayo.)  For meatloaf I think the cheaper mince makes a much nicer loaf than the more expensive minced steak.

I agree.  If your meat is too lean it will come out dry.

I agree.  If your meat is too lean it will come out dry.

OK, so what is considered lean?

Funny thing, when I use the same ingredients and make burgers, they are fine.

Have you started buying "good" mince?  You need a certain fat content in the meat to get a moist loaf (unless you add things like soup or mayo.)  For meatloaf I think the cheaper mince makes a much nicer loaf than the more expensive minced steak.

I'll tell you what I do, including the onion, which you can obviously omit if you wish. I start with using a fattier mince than I would normally use for other things, as PR suggested. But I set that aside for now and mix the other stuff first.

I finely dice onion, green pepper, and red pepper. (I chop the veg really fine so it isn't crunchy when the loaf comes out of the oven.) I crush up some crackers - usually just cream crackers -and mix them with 2 beaten eggs, making sure the crackers are softened and the whole thing becomes a bit gooey. Then I add about a half cup of ketchup to the egg mixture, along with the seasonings I am going to use - mostly I just use a bit of garlic granules, dried thyme, and salt and pepper.

After I have mixed all of that other stuff together, I then pour it over the meat and just work it in, without overmixing it. I plop it into the loaf pan and into the oven at 180C for about 90 minutes. Halfway through, I pull it out and spread a bit of ketchup over the top.

I mix all the ingredients separately so that the meat only gets mixed once. I've heard that overmixing it causes it to be dry, so I figured rather than add all the ingredients sort of separately and mix each one in, that it was better to mix all the ingredients in and then just mix it once. (Also, mixing the crackers with the beaten egg first means that there aren't any dry curnchy bits in the loaf.) I do pull the meat loaf out of the oven now and again and pour some of the fat out from the pan, to keep it from being too greasy, as a fattier mince will produce a lot more grease and the loaf would be soaking in all that grease otherwise, since I put mine in a loaf pan. Some people just form it into a loaf and put it in a roasting tray, which I guess would help, but I've never tried doing that.

Hope that helps!

OK, so what is considered lean?

I don't buy any ground that says lean on it for meat loaf.  If you're using turkey mince I think you're right to add extra oil (mayo ).

16 what?

16% fat is still fairly lean, although not massively so - I've got some "lean mince" in the fridge that is 12% .  If it's grammes per serving it depends what serving size they're using.  Maybe try a tray of the "feet and face" mince, as a bonus it's nice and cheap.

I noticed a lot of recipes I saw on-line used the onion soup mix.  Ohh, I happen to have a leftover can of cream of mushroom, I'll try it! Can you send it anyway, or post it here   Thank you!

Here you go! I love meatloaf!

2 lb ground beef (a pork/beef mixture is nice too)
1 egg
1 pouch dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup (save remaining half for gravy)

Mix all together and bake in a 2 qt. baking dish at 350 degrees F for 1 1/4 hour. Skim out the fat and put it in a small sauce pan. Combine pan drippings with remaining soup and 1/4 cup water. Heat through.

Don't add any salt to the recipe as there's plenty in the onion soup!

16 grams of fat.
The package does not say lean anywhere I can see.

Thank you Bmore, that looks really good!

This is the recipe I use:

1 pound ground beef/turkey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 packet dry onion soup mix (I usually omit this and add a bit of dried onion instead)
3 slices old/toasted bread, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon seasoning (like Lawry's - whatever you've got)
1 tablespoon water

Mix and bake at 425º for 40-60 minutes

I almost always use turkey, and have tweaked it in all kinds of ways, and it's never been dry.  It's a great basic recipe.

16 grams of fat.
The package does not say lean anywhere I can see.

pretty sure the Sainsbury's Taste The Difference mince is steak mince, which will be too lean for making meatloaf.

I use a mix of beef and pork mince and the fattiness of the pork mince keeps it nice and moist