What is the Best Binder for Meatloaf? (2024)

FAQs

What is the Best Binder for Meatloaf? ›

There are a few rules about traditional meatloaf recipes: You need binders to hold the loaf together. Eggs are an obvious choice (I like 1 egg per pound of meat). Bread crumbs, rolled oats, or a panade help too. When it's time to bake it, you can bake it in the pan or out of the pan.

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.

Rice Krispies works great as a binder material thanks to their plain, starchy, porous, and crisp structure. Because these rice bits are relatively tasteless, they also bulk up and soak up the flavor of the spices and meat in the meal you are cooking.

Yellow or dijon mustard – You will often see this listed as the binding agent, especially for smoked brisket, pulled pork, and pork ribs This is my preferred binding agent and I even use it on ribeyes and beef ribs. It's a perfect combination with any of our spice and rub ranges.

Eggs Add Structure

Egg yolks, which are mostly water but contain a good amount of protein and fat, add flavor, richness, and moisture. They also help bind the meat together and get the loaf to set in a stable form without the need to overwork the meat.

Onions, garlic and celery do pose one problem though: they don't cook down easily. Little bits of crunchy onion or celery or potent, hot garlic will spoil the comforting aspect of eating meatloaf.

Q: Why does my meatloaf always crack while cooking? A: Meatloaf usually cracks when the outside has cooked much more quickly than the inside. When meat cooks, the proteins contract and bind together; when it doesn't cook evenly, the outer proteins tighten up, leaving cracks in the top of your meatloaf.

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.

Not only does sheet pan meatloaf bake up faster than its traditional loaf-shaped cousin, it also has more surface area, meaning every bite is laden with that deliciously caramelized topping.

Do you cover meatloaf when baking? ›

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.

The wet ingredients you add to meatloaf make it juicy. Using whole milk will add more richness and fat that keeps it from going dry. Along with ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, it gives meatloaf a marvelous texture.

Parchment paper is a great option to line your pan the next time you cook meatloaf. It prevents the meat from sticking to the pan resulting in a meatloaf that is evenly cooked all the way through and looks ready to eat.