On Wed, 07 Jan 2015 09:25:48 -0600, Moe DeLoughan >
wrote:

>On 1/6/2015 5:11 PM, Ophelia wrote:
>>
>>
>> "dsi1" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On 1/6/2015 12:26 PM, Ophelia wrote:
>>>> When the recipe states 'breadcrumbs' should they be fresh or dried?
>>>>
>>>
>>> That would be dried. I buy the stuff in the can. There's not much
>>> point in making breadcrumbs out of fresh bread for meatloaf - or is
>>> there?
>>
>> I don't know, which is why I asked I dehydrate left over bread and
>> turn it into crumbs anyway, so I do have both. Why would fresh not
>> be right? Does the dried soak up extra liquid? I haven't made much
>> meat loaf. I made some once and it was fine but I can't remember
>> which breadcrumbs I used
>>
>
>I make mine with a very small amount of crushed saltine crackers -
>say, 2-3 crackers per pound and a half of meat. My mom used to use way
>too much oatmeal to stretch the meat to feed ten people, so to this
>day I can't stand meatloaf made with filler (especially oatmeal,
>because I was overexposed to it). A small amount to help bind the
>mixture, yes, but not so much as to noticeably affect the texture and
>flavor.

My meat loaves are larger than what I read most make, I use a minimum
of five pounds of meat. I'll grind in a couple tubes of saltines, or
2-3 sheets of matza.... I also grind in a couple three raw potatoes
(adds some fluffiness - latke meat loaf?), I use 2 large eggs per
pound of meat. I grind in all the veggies... saves a lot of knife
work, and nothing wasted, potato skins go in, as does parsley, stems
and all. Can't grind in garlic, cloves won't blend in, just stays all
in one spot even with lots of mixing, and over mixed is lousy, makes a
brick... for meat loaf I prefer granulated garlic. I don't use onion
soup mix, too salty, instead Penzeys dehy toasted onions, in fact I
ordered a pound yesterday with other items... Penzeys sent a free
offer to try a new product, a half cup jar with a $30 order; roasted
garlic:
https://www.penzeys.com/online-catal...24/p-1690/pd-s