{"id":204812,"title":"Classic American Meatloaf","modified":"2026-11-06T16:54:04+01:00","plain":"America\u2019s family meat loaf, made with ground beef and a milk-soaked bread panade, shaped by hand and topped with a ketchup glaze.\n\n\n\nSome evenings call for a dish you can cut into thick slices and eat with a mountain of mashed potatoes. Meatloaf comes out of the oven with its red glaze still glossy, caramelized edges and the smell of warm ketchup and mustard. \n\n\n\nUnder the knife, each slice stays tender and shows the onion and parsley set in the meat. And if there are leftovers, the next day\u2019s cold slice ends up in a sandwich, and it\u2019s often even better.\n\n\n\nA side of mac and cheese, and the American dinner is complete\n\n\n\nWhat Is Meatloaf?\n\n\n\nMeatloaf is the meat loaf of everyday American cooking. Ground beef, an egg and a panade of bread soaked in milk are mixed by hand with onion and parsley, shaped into a long loaf on a baking sheet, then baked in the oven under a ketchup glaze. \n\n\n\nHalf of the glaze coats the loaf while it bakes, and the other half is served at the table. In Japan, the same base of ground meat bound with soaked bread becomes hambagu, served as individual steaks.\n\n\n\nThe English name describes what you see: meat in the shape of a loaf. In French, it is simply called pain de viande; the American version stands out for its sweet and tangy glaze.\n\n\n\nAnother ground beef classic: chili con carne\n\n\n\nFrom the Mechanical Meat Grinder to 1950s Dinners\n\n\n\nGround meat baked as a loaf already existed in European kitchens, but American meatloaf owes a lot to the mechanical meat grinder, which spread in the 19th century. Tough cuts could finally be ground easily at home, and they became a cheap base that was simple to season and bake in the oven. \n\n\n\nIn late 19th-century New England, meat loaf was sometimes served at breakfast to use up leftover beef.\n\n\n\nDuring the Great Depression, in the 1930s, it became a budget dish: stale bread, rolled oats or crackers made it possible to feed a family with very little meat. After the war, 1950s cookbooks set the formula that is still the standard, with the meat, the binder and the ketchup glaze.\n\n\n\nA square of cornbread to mop up the glaze\n\n\n\nMeatloaf thus joined the popular dishes of the American table, alongside the Big Mac and the Philly cheesesteak. It is mostly made for weeknight dinners, and the leftovers go into sandwiches the next day.\n\n\n\nThe Main Ingredients for Meatloaf\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe ground beef should be about 15 percent fat: at 5 percent, the loaf turns dry and dense. A mix of beef and pork works too. The panade, two slices of bread soaked in milk and then mashed into a paste, keeps the meat moist, and the egg binds everything together for clean slices.\n\n\n\nDiced raw onion and chopped parsley go into the meat, never on top. Salt, black pepper and a dash of Worcestershire sauce round out the seasoning, and the sauce boosts the umami flavor of the beef.\n\n\n\nThe glaze brings together ketchup, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and jarred prepared horseradish, which adds a sharp kick. European ketchup is a little less sweet and more acidic than American ketchup, which makes for a slightly brighter glaze.\n\n\n\nTechnique Tips for a Good Meatloaf\n\n\n\nShaped by hand on a baking sheet rather than packed into a loaf pan, the meatloaf browns on all sides, and the juices that run out are easy to spoon off. A thermometer is still the best guide: 71 \u00b0C in the center. Letting it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing gives clean slices.\n\n\n\nFor freshness, a little coleslaw on the side\n\n\n\nAt dinner, serve it with the reserved glaze, mashed potatoes, green beans with garlic and lemon, or mac and cheese. Onion rings, sweet potato fries or a potato salad go well with it too. The next day, a cold slice between two slices of white sandwich bread, with mayonnaise, tomato and iceberg lettuce, makes a really good sandwich.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tMeatloaf\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tGlaze2 tablespoons brown sugar2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce1 tablespoon Dijon mustard4 tablespoons ketchup1 tablespoon horseradish (prepared, from a jar)Panade2 slices bread ((white, whole wheat, rye or sourdough))120 ml milkMeatloaf900 g beef (ground (round or chuck))1 egg1 teaspoon salt (kosher, or 0.5 teaspoon table salt)0.75 teaspoon black pepper, (freshly ground)1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce1 small onion, (diced)4 tablespoons parsley (fresh, chopped)\t\n\t\n\t\tPreparationPreheat the oven to 180\u00b0C.Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.GlazeIn a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, the Worcestershire sauce for the glaze, the Dijon mustard, the ketchup and the horseradish.Whisk until smooth.Divide the glaze in half: one half will be used to coat the meatloaf, the other will be served at the table.PanadeTear the bread into very small pieces.Place the bread pieces in a small bowl.Pour the milk over the bread.Let soak for 5 minutes, until the milk is completely absorbed and the bread is very soft and soggy.Mash the bread with your fingertips to form a paste.MeatloafPlace the ground beef in a large mixing bowl.Add the panade.Mix by hand, mashing the larger pieces of bread, until the bread is almost completely blended into the meat.Add the egg, salt, pepper and the Worcestershire sauce for the meatloaf.Mix by hand until everything is evenly combined.Add the onion and parsley.Mix until the onion and parsley are evenly distributed.Transfer the meat to the prepared baking sheet.Shape it by hand into an oblong loaf.BakingBake for 30 minutes.Remove the baking sheet from the oven.Spread the half of the glaze meant for coating over the entire top of the meatloaf.Return to the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf reads 71\u00b0C.Resting and ServingLet the meatloaf rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.While it rests, spoon off the whitish juices (coagulated proteins) that have collected around the meat.Transfer the meatloaf to a serving platter.Cut into slices.Serve with the reserved glaze on the side.\t\n\t\n\t\tMeat: this recipe uses ground round, but chuck works too. In France, avoid 5% fat ground beef, which is too lean: the meatloaf turns out dry and dense. Choose 15% fat, or cut the beef with a little ground pork. In Germany, gemischtes Hackfleisch (half beef, half pork) works well. You can also use a mix of beef and pork, or beef and veal, or 10% fat ground beef for a slightly lighter version.\nSalt: this recipe uses Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which is much less salty by volume than table salt, hence the half teaspoon of table salt as a substitute.\nHorseradish: you'll find it in jars in the condiment aisle (Meerrettich in Germany). It gives the glaze a spicy kick. If you don't like horseradish, you can replace it with bourbon for a smokier flavor. Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins) is available in most European supermarkets. European ketchup is a little less sweet and more acidic than American ketchup.\nLoaf pan or baking sheet: you can bake the meatloaf in a loaf pan, but it's better to shape it by hand on a baking sheet, because that makes it easier to remove the juices that run out during baking. For mini meatloaves, divide the mixture into 6 to 8 small loaves and bake for 20 to 25 minutes depending on their size. A 900 g loaf generally takes 45 to 60 minutes to cook: a thermometer reading of 71\u00b0C in the center is still the best guide.\nOther variations: add dried herbs or spices (oregano, basil, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder); blitz fresh bread into fine crumbs so it mixes in more easily; replace the bread with rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned, never steel-cut), panko breadcrumbs or crushed crackers, well soaked; replace the milk with a plant-based milk; use gluten-free bread and gluten-free Worcestershire sauce.\nMake ahead: the raw mixture keeps for one day in the refrigerator, in the bowl covered with plastic wrap. Take it out about 20 minutes before baking, then shape the loaf.\nStorage: leftovers keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped or in an airtight container. Reheat slices in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, or wrapped in aluminum foil in a 150\u00b0C oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Cooked meatloaf can be frozen for 3 months, double-wrapped; uncooked meatloaf can be frozen for 2 to 3 months and must be thawed completely before baking and glazing as in the recipe.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tPlat principalAm\u00e9ricaine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}