Recently, I made meatloaf. Meatloaf is not something I have grown up with – in fact, I’d never had it up until two or so years ago. In total, I can count one one hand the number of times I’ve had meatloaf and twice was by my own creation! So I am not too much of a meatloaf expert. In fact, I always seem to have the same problems with meatloaf.
First, my onions never combine too well with the loaf. They’re always quite distinct and separate. I’ve tried dicing them into squares as small as possible and they still crumble off when you cut into the meatloaf.
Second, my meat is never quite as soft as I envision a meatloaf should be. Meatloaf, to me, is like a big loaf of bread – but made out of meat. So I always imagine it with a uniform texture and softness. My meatloaf always looks like I meant to make hamburgers but got the shape wrong. And when you cut into it, it is not uniform because it is speckled with onion.
Granted, these are not show stoppers because it is always super tasty. It just never comes out the way I feel that it should. So if anyone has any kitchen secrets and experiences regarding meatloaf, please feel free to share them! I want to learn!
With that said, here is my recent foray into meatloaf. I used this recipe and beef from a grass-fed Texas Longhorn because the meat is very lean and as such, there was no crazy fat draining to do. Overall, it was incredibly tasty and I’d like to make it again. This recipe made 6 half-cup loaves (I patted them into shape rather than squeezing) and the next day, Martin and I sliced them up and put them between rye bread for some yummy sandwiches. Overall, a very good recipe.
My favorite part was the glaze, which was tasty-tasty.
We’ve had great success with Alton Brown’s meatloaf. You might want to try using beef with some more fat in it to avoid the crumbly onion problem. I’d try mixing your lean grass-fed beef at about 2:1 with some 80/20 ground chuck. His method includes putting the loaf into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper or plastic wrap and then turning that out onto a baking sheet, I would expect the smaller surface area to increase the cooking time but hold in more moisture. He also uses a food processor to mince the onion and other vegetables.
Check out Scene 5 and Scene 9 from A Grind is a Terrible Thing to Waste (recipe).