Traditional Meat Loaf Tips
Do you have to put milk in meat loaf?
No. While milk is a popular ingredient in meat loaf, you can use other liquids such as vegetable juice or broth, or even finely chopped mushrooms, which release a great deal of moisture. The milk or other liquid binds with the bread crumbs and eggs to create meat loaf’s familiar, sliceable, homey texture. Our popular
Sweet-and-Sour Meat Loaf recipe uses tomato sauce as its liquid ingredient.
What does bread do in meat loaf?
Bread is a binding agent for meat loaf—the magic happens when it’s mixed with eggs and liquid.
How do I make my meat loaf moist?
To ensure moist meat loaf, avoid overmixing the ingredients. Overmixing can make meat loaf tough instead of tender. Also be sure to use a fatty enough cut of meat—you want a meat or combination of meats that’s 90% lean or less.
Should meat loaf be cooked covered or uncovered?
It depends on the recipe. Glazed meat loaves like this one tend to get a bit sweet and caramelized when you bake them uncovered—and that’s exactly what you’re looking for in a tomato and brown sugar topping. For other variations, check out more
meat loaf recipes.
Research contributed by Christine Rukavena, Taste of Home Book Editor.
