How To Make Meatloaf

Roughly once a year — right about now, as it so happens — I get a sudden and very urgent hankering for meatloaf. One day, it’s stuffed squash and warm grain salads and beef stews, and the next day, all I can think about is meatloaf. Tender, savory bites of meatloaf glazed with (yes, of all things) ketchup.

If you have been scarred by dry or tasteless meatloaf in a past life, it’s time to revisit this classic. Here’s how to make the most tender, tasty meatloaf you can imagine.

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.

Don’t worry — your meatloaf won’t taste like bread, but you’ll definitely miss it if it’s not there!

Any ground meat can be used to make meatloaf: beef, pork, veal, or lamb. You can use just one kind of meat, or you can mix a few different kinds together to give your meatloaf different flavors and textures.

Personally, I love a mix of about 70% beef (for its flavor) and 30% pork (for its fatty richness). You definitely want a bit of fat in your mix so the meatloaf doesn’t end up dry and crumbly. I usually look for a beef that’s only 80% to 85% lean.

A mirepoix made of small-diced onions, carrots, and celery is classic here, but you can swap some or all of those veggies for any of your favorites: mushrooms, more carrots, peas, even broccoli.

Whatever vegetables you use, be sure to cook them before they go into the meatloaf so they’re tender and toothsome rather than crunchy.

Call me old-fashioned, but I love a swath of good ol’ ketchup on my meatloaf. The ketchup concentrates during cooking, creating a creamy, ultra-tomato-y glaze that pairs perfectly with the deep savory nature of the meatloaf.

If you’re not a ketchup fan, you can use your favorite BBQ sauce or any other sauce you find appealing. You can also skip the glaze altogether and drape the meatloaf with strips of bacon before cooking — as we know, bacon makes everything better and that certainly holds true here.

The last piece of the puzzle to making a fantastic meatloaf is two-fold: cooking time and letting it rest. A 2-pound meatloaf will reliably cook in about an hour — try not to overcook or the meat will start getting tough and crumbly.

The best way to know when a meatloaf is done is by checking its internal temperature; as soon as it hits 155°F, you can pull it from the oven.

Letting it rest for a few minutes before you slice and serve also gives the juices inside the meatloaf time to redistribute and settle, just like when you’re cooking a steak or a roast. If you slice the loaf too quickly, the tasty juices pool out and leave the meatloaf dry.