Grandma's Meat Loaf
This meat loaf is an old-fashioned favorite, made with lean ground beef, chili sauce or ketchup, oats, and other ingredients and seasonings. I usually use extra lean ground beef with 1/2 pound of ground pork. If you use all ground beef, 85% makes a good, juicy meatloaf, or choose ground chuck or ground round.
This meat loaf is an old-fashioned favorite, made with lean ground beef, chili sauce or ketchup, oats, and other ingredients and seasonings. I usually use extra lean ground beef with 1/2 pound of ground pork. If you use all ground beef, 85% makes a good, juicy meatloaf, or choose ground chuck or ground round.
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup chili sauce or ketchup
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or 1 lb. lean ground beef and 1/2 pound ground pork
- 3/4 cup oats quick or old-fashioned
- 3 tablespoons water or milk
- Carbohydrate 15.5776416666667 g
- Cholesterol 137.3085 mg
- Fat 21.3390417916667 g
- Fiber 2.57845841603974 g
- Protein 34.0766128333333 g
- Saturated Fat 7.30219002415625 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (189g)
- Sodium 725.41955 mg
- Sugar 12.9991832506269 g
- Trans Fat 3.12978693656459 g
- Calories 396 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add chopped celery and onion; cook, stirring, until tender, about 7 to 9 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix ground beef or beef and pork mixture, oats, chili sauce or ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, beaten egg, celery and onion mixture, and the water or milk.
- In a 13x9-inch baking pan, shape meat mixture into a 9x5-inch loaf. Bake at 375° for 1 hour.
- Using 2 spatulas, carefully move meat loaf to a serving plate and slice.
Ingredient lists rarely account for thermal conductivity, yet metal pan selection dictates whether the exterior forms a crisp crust or stews in accumulated juices. A standard 13x9-inch baking pan allows the shaped loaf to release moisture freely across a broad surface area, preventing the dense, waterlogged texture that occurs when meat is confined to a high-walled loaf pan. When combining lean ground beef with pork, the added fat content prevents dryness, whereas choosing an 85 percent lean all-beef mix requires careful temperature monitoring to retain moisture during the one-hour bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sautéing the celery and onion in vegetable oil for seven to nine minutes breaks down fibrous cell walls and drives off excess water before the aromatics enter the raw meat mixture. Oats absorb released proteins and liquids as the temperature climbs, trapping moisture within the matrix without introducing dense starches. Worcestershire sauce and chili sauce supply umami compounds and acetic acid, which balance the rich profile of the red meat.
Transferring the cooked loaf onto a serving plate requires two spatulas to prevent structural collapse along the center seam.
