DJ BBQ's world's best meatloaf | Beef recipes | Jamie Oliver (2024)

FAQs

DJ BBQ's world's best meatloaf | Beef recipes | Jamie Oliver? ›

Pick the herb leaves, finely chop half of them and add to the veg pan, saving the rest for later. Leave the veg to cool completely, then tear in the mozzarella and add the breadcrumbs, minced meat, mustard, eggs, and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Scrunch and mix well, then shape into a loaf.

Pick the herb leaves, finely chop half of them and add to the veg pan, saving the rest for later. Leave the veg to cool completely, then tear in the mozzarella and add the breadcrumbs, minced meat, mustard, eggs, and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Scrunch and mix well, then shape into a loaf.

Milk and other dairy products, like heavy cream and buttermilk, contain both water and fat, adding two types of moisture to our meatloaf. There's a long-held theory that milk can tenderize ground meat, and this is the reason often cited for cooking ground meat in milk to make a Bolognese-style ragù.

The baking soda (which is very basic) raises the pH of the meat, preventing the proteins from bonding excessively (and thus squeezing water out); this keeps everything nice and tender, and prevents that pool of liquid from forming.

Ina says her meatloaf serves 6 people, but I think it can easily serve up to 8 if you're enjoying it with a couple of sides like mashed potatoes and green beans.

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.

Clever cooks get deliciously rich texture by adding milk to seasoned breadcrumbs and allowing all the liquid to be absorbed. This time-honored tradition for making the most succulent meatloaf creates a flavorful binder that evenly distributes moisture throughout the loaf.

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.

Fat Is Your Friend

This is the reason most cooks choose ground chuck since it has this ideal proportion of fat to meat. During cooking, the fat will liquefy, making the meatloaf moist.

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.

Why not cook meatloaf in the loaf pan? ›

By free-forming a meatloaf—not cooking it in a loaf pan—we get maximum surface area exposure, and therefore maximum flavor. So not only does it make it easier to slice and guard against sogginess, but mounding your meatloaf instead of panning it also makes your meatloaf literally tastier.

Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl. Add the meat, bread crumbs, cheese, 1/2 cup of the ketchup and 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, the vegetables and mix until just combined. Mold the meatloaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Most recipes require bread crumbs soaked in moisture as the binder to improve the quality of your meatloaf, but there are plenty of other options. In fact, many people consider using Panko instead because it is light and airy and helps the meat crisp as it cooks.

In meatloaf, this is most commonly the eggs and breadcrumbs. Your binding ingredient is only second to the meat itself in your recipe and the reason why meatloaf crumbles. When this happens, it's because you didn't use enough. Next time, try adding in an extra egg and/or some more breadcrumbs.

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.