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Reverendender@sh.itjust.works

What are your best meatloaf recipes? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Reverendender@sh.itjust.works to c/allthingsfoodandcooking@sh.itjust.works

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I'm always trying to create the ultimate, but I've never quite achieved it. I definitely need more restraint in terms of number of ingredients. EDIT: For Kicks, I dug up this very old family recipe.

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[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Wow, this is very sparing on the seasonings and fillers! Why do you say not to exceed that amount of garlic? (I am a huge garlic fan)

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 0 points 5 months ago

Well, any seasonings or aromatics are technically to taste since they don't change how things hold together until you really over do it.

The reason is that a meatloaf should be a meatloaf, and garlic is a very strong flavor. Once you get past a point, it starts to take over in a way herbs and spices don't/can't. I'm a garlic lover myself, and if I was making meatballs, or a pasta sauce, it would be a different story. When the goal is to lift the flavors of the meat and enhance them, the amounts need to serve that goal.

Obviously, though, if you want a stronger garlic presence, have at it :)

That's the same reason for minimal fillers and seasoning. They're selected to give support to the meat, and give a nice texture rather than stand out on their own. Once you have enough of the fillers and binders to hold things together, why add more? If you gotta make meat stretch, you would, but it's otherwise going to result in the kind of meatloaf that people dislike where it's almost paté in texture with little flavor.