Best All American Classic Meat Loaf Recipes

MOM'S MEAT LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Add beef; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into an 8x4-in. loaf in an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan., In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients, stirring to dissolve sugar; remove 1/2 cup for sauce. Spread remaining mixture over meat loaf., Bake 60-65 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with reserved sauce.

CLASSIC MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place bread in food processor; pulse until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in milk. Set aside, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine beef, pork, onion, garlic, egg, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add bread-milk mixture, and mix very gently with a fork (do not overmix).
• Place meat mixture on prepared baking sheet, and form into a loaf about 9 inches long and 4 to 5 inches wide.
• Bake, brushing twice with remaining 1/4 cup ketchup during baking, until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees, 45 to 55 minutes. Let meatloaf rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

ALL-AMERICAN CLASSIC MEAT LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine eggs, broth, worcestershire sauce; stir in bread cubes. Let stand 15 minutes. With fork, mash bread cubes into small pieces. Stir in Parmesan cheese, mustard, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper. Add meat, green pepper and onion. Using hands, mix ingredients together well (do not overmix). Lightly pat meat mixture into 9x5x3-inch pan. With fingers, lightly pull loaf away from sides of pan.
• Bake, uncovered, for 1 1/4 hours. For topping, in a small bowl stir together ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar. Spoon on loaf. Bake 15 minutes more or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf reads 160 degrees F.
• Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. To remove, use two large spatulas inserted along short edges to life loaf from pan to a platter. Optional -- sprinkle with parsely, green onions and 1/2 teaspoons cracked black pepper.

CLASSIC MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pulse bread in a food processor until finely ground. (You should have about 2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs.) Transfer to a medium bowl.
• Pulse garlic, onion, celery, carrot, and parsley in food processor until finely chopped. Add to breadcrumbs. Add meats, egg, 1/4 cup ketchup, the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; mix together using your hands. Transfer mixture to a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan.
• Stir together remaining 1/2 cup ketchup and the brown sugar until smooth; brush onto meat. Set pan on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 160 degrees, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.

CLASSIC MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the carrot, celery, onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic in a food processor, and pulse until very finely chopped, almost to a puree. Place the minced vegetables into a large mixing bowl, and mix in ground chuck, Worcestershire sauce, and egg. Add Italian herbs, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix gently with a wooden spoon to incorporate vegetables and egg into the meat. Pour in bread crumbs. With your hand, gently mix in the crumbs with your fingertips just until combined, about 1 minute.
• Form the meatloaf into a ball. Pour olive oil into a baking dish and place the ball of meat into the dish. Shape the ball into a loaf, about 4 inches high by 6 inches across.
• Bake in the preheated oven just until the meatloaf is hot, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, ketchup, Dijon mustard, and hot sauce. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.
• Remove the meatloaf from the oven. With the back of a spoon, smooth the glaze onto the top of the meatloaf, then pull a little bit of glaze down the sides of the meatloaf with the back of the spoon.
• Return meatloaf to oven, and bake until the loaf is no longer pink inside and the glaze has baked onto the loaf, 30 to 40 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the loaf should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Cooking time will depend on shape and thickness of the meatloaf.

ALL-AMERICAN MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove crusts from bread, and place slices in the bowl of a food processor. Process until fine crumbs form, about 10 seconds. Transfer breadcrumbs to a large mixing bowl. Do not substitute dried breadcrumbs in this step, as they will make your meatloaf rubbery.
• Place carrot, celery, yellow onion, garlic, and parsley in the bowl of the food processor. Process until vegetables have been minced, about 30 seconds, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. (Chopping vegetables this way saves time and ensures that vegetables will be small enough to cook through and not be crunchy). Transfer vegetables to bowl with the breadcrumbs.
• Add 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, pork, veal, beef, eggs, salt, pepper, Tabasco, and rosemary. Using your hands, knead the ingredients until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. The texture should be wet, but tight enough to hold a free-form shape.
• Set a wire baking rack into an 11-by-17-inch baking pan. Cut a 5-by-11-inch piece of parchment paper, and place over center of rack to prevent meat loaf from falling through. Using your hands, form an elongated loaf covering the parchment.
• Place the remaining 3 tablespoons ketchup, remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons mustard, and brown sugar in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the glaze over loaf. Place oil in a medium saucepan set over high heat. When oil is smoking, add red onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and golden in places. Add 3 tablespoons water, and cook, stirring, until most of the water has evaporated. Transfer onion to a bowl to cool slightly, then sprinkle onion over the meatloaf.
• Bake 30 minutes, then sprinkle rosemary needles on top. Continue baking loaf until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 160 degrees. about 25 minutes more. Let meatloaf cool on rack, 15 minutes.

CLASSIC AMERICAN MEATLOAF

Steps:

• To make the meatloaf: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the scallions, carrot and onion and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme, cumin, paprika, and garlic and onion powders. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Scrape into a large bowl and let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, heat the ketchup in the microwave until just warm to the touch. Sprinkle the gelatin over the ketchup and whisk to remove clumps. Add to the cooled vegetable mixture, then add the beef, pork, eggs, and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and mix just to combine. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with oil and form the meat mixture into a loaf.
• To make the glaze: In a measuring cup, stir together the ketchup, Worcestershire, and mustard. Brush a little glaze on the meatloaf and bake until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F, about 1 hour 15 minutes, brushing three or four times with the glaze until you've used it all. Let meatloaf rest at least 15 minutes before slicing.

CLASSIC MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
• Combine the meatloaf mix, breadcrumbs, parsley, eggs, onion, garlic, 1/4 cup of the ketchup, 1 tablespoon of the Worcestershire, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix together until well combined.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet and form it into a compact oval-shaped loaf about 9 inches by 5 inches. Bake the meatloaf for 30 minutes.
• Stir the brown sugar together with the remaining 1/4 cup ketchup and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire in a small bowl for the glaze. Brush the top and sides of the meatloaf all over with the glaze. Return to the oven and bake until the glaze starts to caramelize and a thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf registers 160 degrees F, about 25 minutes more. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.