French Onion Meatloaf (Oven Recipe) - Recipes That Crock! (2024)

FAQs

Should onions be cooked before adding to meatloaf? ›

I later learned how I could avoid this problem and make a fully smooth meatloaf by pre-cooking any vegetables, especially the onion, before adding them to the ground meat. This way the meatloaf gets the flavor without the rawness -- a method from the smart people at Cook's Illustrated.

Should I cook my meatloaf covered or uncovered? The meatloaf can be cooked uncovered. However, if you are concerned about it burning, you can cover the meatloaf with foil for the first 45 minutes and uncover it for the final 15 minutes to allow the meatloaf to brown on top.

Make Use of Milk: Soak breadcrumbs in milk before adding them to your mixture. This will keep your meatloaf moist during baking. Slather on Sauce: Add a layer of ketchup, barbecue sauce, or a mixture of both on top of your meatloaf before baking. This enhances flavor and helps retain moisture.

The only way to guarantee tender meat is not to overcook it. And that's a simple matter of using a thermometer when you bake the meatloaf. Milk does, on the other hand, add moisture and fat and is worth including for that fact alone.

Add onions or other chopped seasoning vegetables about 2 to 3 minutes before the beef is ready, or cook them separately. When the pan is hot, add about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break the ground beef up into smaller pieces as it cooks.

The foil or lid also helps the meat retain its moisture, which is useful when cooking with lean meats (like chicken or turkey). On the other hand, if you cook your meatloaf uncovered, the excess moisture will evaporate, resulting in a firmer meatloaf with a crispy crust and caramelized glaze.

The best temperature to cook the meatloaf at is 350°F and it requires about 1 hour, give or take a few minutes, depending on size and shape.

Luckily, there are plenty of options for a meatloaf glaze that doesn't include ketchup and adds new and unique flavors to a classic dish. Some popular substitutions include: Barbecue sauce.

When this happens, it's because you didn't use enough. Next time, try adding in an extra egg and/or some more breadcrumbs. Alternatively, rice, barley, corn flakes, crackers, and dried soup mix can also stand in as binding ingredients as well. Including larger quantities of these items should help solve the problem.

The Basic Meatloaf Formula

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.

Why is my meatloaf mushy in the oven? ›

The recipe can go wrong in several ways, and discovering that your meatloaf is mushy and watery instead of firm and simple to slice can be a frustrating experience. But what causes this to happen in the first place? The most common reason meatloaf is mushy is too much liquid added to the mixture.

Sure, egg yolks add some rich flavor to a meatloaf, but the real reason we need eggs is for structure—to help bind the meatloaf together. This is especially important since we're making a free-form meatloaf, or one that you shape by hand, versus using a loaf pan.

It does seem quite a lot of onion, but as the onions cook they shrink in volume and should become very soft and slightly caramelized. So the meatloaf will not have the assertive, sharp flavour of raw onion but instead a mellow and sweet background flavour.

Generally, the onions go in the pan first, and after they're almost done to the point I want, then the garlic goes in with them. This helps prevent burning of the garlic, which can happen ridiculously easy, and Ruins the flavor of everything!

Follow this tip: Whether you use a classic blend of onion, carrot, and celery, or go for a blend of different veggies, give them a quick sauté with some olive oil first. Not only will the vegetables be more tender and flavorful, but they'll also add a little more moisture to the meat.

To cook ground beef with peppers and onions, there are two good options. You can start by sautéing the peppers and onions in oil or butter until the peppers are soft and the onion is translucent, then add the ground beef and continue to cook together.