Name: Old-Style Homemade Meatloaf
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 25 min
Yield: 3
Ingredients: 3 pounds ground beef 85/15; 2 ea eggs; 1/4 cup milk; 1/4 cup ketchup; 1 1/2 tablespoon mustard, prepared; 1 ea yellow onion, small; 1 ea green pepper, small; 1 ea garlic clove, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon worcestershire Sauce; 3/4 cups panko bread crumb

This meatloaf is both juicy and tender and it goes without saying the flavor is just what you would want in an old-style homemade meatloaf.

Meatloaf is one of those dishes that you learn to cook as a beginner, then the more you cook it the better you get at it. I think that is because you actually learn the tricks of making a good meatloaf and as you begin to develop your skills you understand the difference between a really good meatloaf and an average one.

What makes the meatloaf good?

Well first of all I think you have to be very careful in choosing the ground beef 80/20 ground beef will make a pretty decent meatloaf. But, maybe a little greasy if you want a really good meatloaf I suggest that you always use 85/15 ground beef it tends to have just a right amount of fat and lean meat ratio.

If the beef is too lean chances are you will create a very dry product. The reason for this is no matter how many vegetables or liquids you put into the meatloaf the fat in the beef helps to create tenderness and moisture.

So, this is a situation where the very best lean beef will create the worst product.

When mixing the meatloaf do your best not to overwork the beef because this only serves to toughen the meat and produce a rubbery chewy meatloaf.

What keeps this meatloaf moist?

We add milk to this recipe along with onions and green peppers (optional). So, in this recipe the onions and green peppers are not sautéed in advance they are chopped small enough to cook as the meatloaf bakes. Because the vegetables are uncooked in advance they released natural liquids as the meatloaf cooks which helps keep the meatloaf moist.

Don’t glazed the meatloaf.

This meatloaf recipe does not direct you to put a ketchup style glaze on the top of the meatloaf before you cook it.

I often offer both a glaze and brown gravy for those who don’t care for ketchup glaze on their meatloaf. Most of the time when serving meatloaf there is a starch involved so having a gravy option makes sense especially if the starch is rice or mashed potatoes, after all of this is comfort food.

I choose to cook my meatloaf uncovered in the oven but if you wish to have a somewhat lighter top then you can cook the meatloaf covered or cook it halfway and cover it for the remainder of the cooking process.

This meatloaf is cooked at 350°F for 1 hour – 1 ½ hours depending on the shape height or container that it’s cooked in. The internal temperature should read 160° using an easy read thermometer.

How to handle leftovers

Meatloaf is great as a leftover you can recede slowly in the oven or slice it up in warm it up a little or not to make meatloaf sandwiches.

It will hold for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Just store it in a tight food storage bags or an airtight container.

You can reheat it in the microwave at 1 to 2 minutes for sliced or in the oven at 300° for 5 to 6 minutes.

If you have a large piece of loaf left over it’s best to reheat it in the oven at 300° for 20 to 25 minutes. This can also be heated in the microwave and about eight minutes.

This old-style homemade meatloaf holds well in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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