Yes, Virginia There is a Great Meatloaf Recipe - Food.com (2024)

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Editors' Pick

Submitted by Nita Holleman

"Absolutely delicious meatloaf and sauce! Those who claim they don't believe there can be such a thing as a great meatloaf will love this. Based on a meatloaf given to me by a dear friend, Virginia Strehl, Memphis, and Leesburg, Fla. Nita Holleman, 2000"

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Ready In:
1hr 20mins

Ingredients:
11
Yields:

1 meatloaf

Serves:
4-5

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ingredients

  • 1 12 lbs ground beef (ground shoulder roast is good)
  • 1 slice bread (broken or chopped finely)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 small vidalia onions or 1 small type sweet onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 14 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons ketchup
  • 12 - 23 cup whole milk or 1/2-2/3 cup half-and-half
  • Sauce

  • 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 -4 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed firm (to taste)
  • 12 cup ketchup

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directions

  • Meatloaf: Combine meat loaf ingredients and place into a loaf baking dish.
  • Smooth out top.
  • Sauce: Combine sauce ingredients and pour on top and sides of meatloaf.
  • Bake at 350°F about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until done.
  • ENJOY!
  • *The addition of 1 or 2 teaspoons of Kitchen Bouquet® makes this recipe very good.
  • **Recipe should be"plump" from the addition of the milk or Half & Half.
  • It should NOT be runny.
  • ***A second batch of sauce served hot is good to serve with the meatloaf.
  • Nita's Note: I note that some of you are using game meat such as deer -- Deer is a very DRY meat. It is wise to HAVE some fat added to the deer -- especially to ground deer. Maybe 25 % fat, ( I recommend 1 lb of ground venison, and 1/2 lb of deer sausage for fat content), otherwise your results will be poor. I don't know about some of the other game meat some are using. Please consult an expert. The recipe is delicious as it stands! Enjoy! Nita Holleman.

Questions & Replies

Yes, Virginia There is a Great Meatloaf Recipe - Food.com (12)

  1. I can understand saying that a recipe has too much of this or that, but a lot of these "reviews" aren't reviews. They're just people that have completely changed the recipe. I see this so often, and it's ridiculous. Some of these "tweaks" are actually making a totally different recipe. Makes it very confusing when trying to decide if I should bother with the recipe as written.

    christine g.

  2. Why don't the people tweaking the whole recipe post their own recipe?! You aren't even making the recipe if you are completely changing it. Lol.

    Amy W.

  3. I really like the idea of baking the meatloaf in a muffin tin for individual servings, but how long do I bake them?

    ireneoligher

  4. I don't think I ever made a meatloaf the same way twice. Some were great, some were good and some were, just okay. This one seemed like it would be good and it's now the only way I make it. I 've never been a fan of meat glazes, but this one, wow. Even my non-cooking husband will make this one because it's so easy. Thanks so much for posting it.

    Acceptance

  5. Just looking at this recipe, there is no flavoring. For this much meat and liquid, only to have 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper isn't going to cut it. The flavor of the ketchup will dissipate while cooking.

    gubtun87

see 34 more questions

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Reviews

  1. 5 stars because it was easy to make and my very picky eaters liked it. After reading some of the reviews, I substituted the slice of bread with some stuffing (ground into crumbs with food processor) for more flavor. 1 slice of bread = 1/4 cup of crumbs. Also, the first time I made this, the sauce tasted very "vinegary" (my guys did not like it at all!), so the second time I made the sauce a couple of days in advance to let the flavors marry and some of the vinegar evaporate - much better (my picky eaters thought I used a different meatloaf recipe and I wasn't about to fess up). Reducing the amount of vinegar made the sauce taste too "ketchupy." Thank you for sharing!

    alinasls

  2. Best Meatloaf I have ever made. Absolutely rave reviews. I cant imagine anyone saying they did not like it! Oh well, to each his own favourites I guess! For me, this one has been a keeper ever since I discovered it here months ago. Rather than prepare the meatloaf in a family size loaf pan I make 4 or 5 small ones in small glass baking dishes and freeze them and then just pop in oven or micro to reheat when needed. I have also froze the sauce in ice cube trays and then have extra sauce when I pull out one of the little loafs. The frozen sauce melts almost immediately over the hot loaf. Love it.

    thousandislandsgirl

  3. I've made this several times now, and thought it was time to post my rave review. Best, best meatloaf I've ever made! Even better than my mom used to make, and I loved hers. I followed another's hint and sautee the chopped onions with a large clove of minced garlic before adding to the meat mixture, and add about 1/2 t. worstestershire sauce. I sometimes add a couple Tblsp. of bbq sauce to the sauce mixture, but the sauce is great without it too - I always make extra for those who like it extra "extra saucy"! Scrumptious comfort food.

    boomerthepug

  4. My husband wanted a meatloaf like his mother use to make (He is 78 years old). This receipt fit the bill. Thank you so much!!!

    Marlene Segers

  5. This recipe had good flavor...but there are a few things I'd change next time. First: Saute the onions prior to mixing into the meat to help soften them and incorporate them in. Second: use less milk...a lot less milk. Third: add a little dry mustard, minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Otherwise delicious and we enjoyed it.

    Alaska Katie

see 1341 more reviews

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Tweaks

  1. I like to sauté the onion first. I find that it adds additional flavor.

    Katie R.

  2. Roasted a small head of garlic off, mashed it well and mixed it into the meatloaf mixture. Roasting it first really mellowed it out and added another bit of flavor to the meatloaf.

    Michael G.

  3. This is the same recipe my mother taught me except she never measured anything and did not include any milk or half and half and the bread was torn a little on the chunky side rather than fine. Also, she never put her meat loaf in a loaf pan. She (and I) pat it into a loaf shape and bake it in a shallow roaster with a rack. This allows the fat to drain away. My husband never liked his mother's meatloaf but he liked mine because it wasn't greasy. PS - I'm from Pittsburgh so I always use Heinz Ketchup.

    Caddy Lady

  4. Try it with Balsamic Ketchup, it's amazing. 2 Parts Ketchup 1 Part Balsamic Vinegar 1 Part Brown Sugar Heat in a saucepan to dissolve the Brown Sugar then cool if you are serving it as dipping sauce, otherwise just cover the top of the meatloaf with it before baking, no need to heat first.

    Joshua W.

  5. Added Worcestershire

    A K.659

see 165 more tweaks

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Nita Holleman

Franklin, NC

  • 75 Followers
  • 26 Recipes
  • 1 Tweak

We hail fom Central Georgia, but live in our fifth Southeastern State -- Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina (USA). I have been cooking Southern food for more that fifty (50) years. My mentors were my grandfather, my husband's favorite aunt, and several maids/cooks who worked in our home.I guess the best cookbook you can own would be the all time favorite, "Joy Of Cooking." Although not ethnic, it has lots of basic cooking information in it. I've given it as a gift to all our family.

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Yes, Virginia There is a Great Meatloaf Recipe  - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What does adding an extra egg to meatloaf do? ›

Eggs Add Structure

Egg yolks, which are mostly water but contain a good amount of protein and fat, add flavor, richness, and moisture. They also help bind the meat together and get the loaf to set in a stable form without the need to overwork the meat.

What is the best binder for meatloaf? ›

If you don't have any bread, you can substitute it for breadcrumbs, crackers, cereal grains, oatmeal, instant rice, instant barley, or even potato flakes! However, bread is still the best choice of all the potential options.

What does adding milk to meatloaf do? ›

The wet ingredients you add to meatloaf make it juicy. Using whole milk will add more richness and fat that keeps it from going dry. Along with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, it gives meatloaf a marvelous texture.

What ingredient keeps meatloaf from falling apart? ›

In meatloaf, this is most commonly the eggs and breadcrumbs. Your binding ingredient is only second to the meat itself in your recipe and the reason why meatloaf crumbles. When this happens, it's because you didn't use enough. Next time, try adding in an extra egg and/or some more breadcrumbs.

Should I cook my meatloaf covered or uncovered? ›

Should I cook my meatloaf covered or uncovered? The meatloaf can be cooked uncovered. However, if you are concerned about it burning, you can cover the meatloaf with foil for the first 45 minutes and uncover it for the final 15 minutes to allow the meatloaf to brown on top.

Should you saute onions before adding to meatloaf? ›

I later learned how I could avoid this problem and make a fully smooth meatloaf by pre-cooking any vegetables, especially the onion, before adding them to the ground meat. This way the meatloaf gets the flavor without the rawness -- a method from the smart people at Cook's Illustrated.

Can you put too many breadcrumbs in meatloaf? ›

Adding more to your mixture is always easier than taking some out. Another common reason meatloaf is mushy is too much filler, like breadcrumbs, bread, and oatmeal. Too much filler will stop it from baking correctly and becoming a fully formed meatloaf.

How many eggs for 2 pounds of ground beef? ›

2 pounds ground beef. 2 eggs. 2 cloves garlic, minced. 1/2 yellow onion, chopped into small pieces.

What is the basic meatloaf formula? ›

The Basic Meatloaf Formula

All recipes for meatloaf start with the same basic formula: 2 pounds of ground meat and a “panade” made of bread or crackers soaked in milk. Along with a few eggs, this panade helps to hold the ground meat together and adds some essential moisture to the mix.

What can you put under meatloaf to soak up grease? ›

A neat trick to soak up the grease under your meatloaf is to line the bottom of the pan with bread slices. The bread soaks up the grease as the loaf bakes. When the meatloaf is done, you can either throw out the bread or bake it to make some truly indulgent toast.

How to make a Bobby Flay meatloaf? ›

directions
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. ...
  3. Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl. ...
  4. Whisk together the remaining ketchup and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl then brush the mixture over the entire loaf.
  5. Bake the meatloaf for approximately 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Why is my meatloaf so dry? ›

Beware Breadcrumbs: Overusing breadcrumbs can soak up moisture and leave your meatloaf dry. Use breadcrumbs in moderation or try using alternatives like oats or crushed crackers. Use Extra Egg: Eggs act as binders and provide moisture. Add one or two eggs per pound of meat for a moist texture.

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