I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish, chopped
onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an egg. Baked 1
1/2 hr. at 375.

I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey instead
of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual. Otherwise
tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so what can I add
to make it come out moister?

I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?

TIA

--
"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always
remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner

"Ken" > wrote in message
...
>I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
> came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish, chopped
> onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an egg. Baked 1
> 1/2 hr. at 375.
>
> I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey instead
> of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual. Otherwise
> tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so what can I add
> to make it come out moister?
>
> I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
> meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?
>
> TIA
>
> --
> "When you choose the lesser of two evils, always
> remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner
>
>
>
>
>
>
Did you use all white meat or a combo of white and dark meat? White meat of
turkey is notoriously dry, so you may want to up the mixture to include more
dark meat. Also, you may want to make it more on the 'wet' side when you
mix it so it won't completely dry out while cooking.
-ginny

On Jan 28, 11:28*am, Ken > wrote:
> I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
> came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish, chopped
> onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an egg. Baked 1
> 1/2 hr. at 375.
>
> I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey instead
> of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual. Otherwise
> tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so what can I add
> to make it come out moister?
>
> I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
> meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?
>
> TIA
>
> --
> "When you choose the lesser of two evils, always
> remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner

As I recall, the recipe I used to use for beef called for the dry
bread to be soaked in milk. I don't know if this makes a difference
or not because it's all squeezed out before mixing. Also, I usually
add a little tomato sauce -nothing fancy. You could try that.

N.

"Virginia Tadrzynski" > wrote in
:

>
> "Ken" > wrote in message
> ...
>>I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
>> came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish,
>> chopped onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an
>> egg. Baked 1 1/2 hr. at 375.
>>
>> I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey
>> instead of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual.
>> Otherwise tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so
>> what can I add to make it come out moister?
>>
>> I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
>> meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> --
>> "When you choose the lesser of two evils, always
>> remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> Did you use all white meat or a combo of white and dark meat? White
> meat of turkey is notoriously dry, so you may want to up the mixture
> to include more dark meat. Also, you may want to make it more on the
> 'wet' side when you mix it so it won't completely dry out while
> cooking. -ginny
>
>
>

A couples slices of raw bacon chopped fine would work too.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

It'll be a sunny day in August, when the Moon will shine that night-
Elbonian Folklore

On Jan 28, 11:36*am, hahabogus > wrote:
> "Virginia Tadrzynski" > wrote :
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Ken" > wrote in message
> ...
> >>I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
> >> came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish,
> >> chopped onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an
> >> egg. Baked 1 1/2 hr. at 375.
>
> >> I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey
> >> instead of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual.
> >> Otherwise tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so
> >> what can I add to make it come out moister?
>
> >> I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
> >> meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?
>
> >> TIA
>
> >> --
> >> "When you choose the lesser of two evils, always
> >> remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner
>
> > Did you use all white meat or a combo of white and dark meat? *White
> > meat of turkey is notoriously dry, so you may want to up the mixture
> > to include more dark meat. *Also, you may want to make it more on the
> > 'wet' side when you mix it so it won't completely dry out while
> > cooking. -ginny
>
> A couples slices of raw bacon chopped fine would work too.
>
> --
>
> The house of the burning beet-Alan
>
> It'll be a sunny day in August, when the Moon will shine that night-
> Elbonian Folklore- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

When you switched to turkey, you lost a lot of fat. That's where the
moisture comes from. You could do the bacon, or mix in some ground
pork or beef, or add another egg. I like a mix of meats myself.
I never heard of putting horseradish in the mix, I'll have to try that
next time.
Lex

"Ken" > wrote in message
...
>I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
> came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish, chopped
> onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an egg. Baked 1
> 1/2 hr. at 375.
>
> I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey instead
> of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual. Otherwise
> tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so what can I add
> to make it come out moister?
>
> I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
> meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?

I personally can't stand ground turkey and I do not feel it substitutes well
for ground beef in most recipes. I have never had trouble with dry
meatloaf. But then I always add plenty of finely chopped vegetables such as
spinach, mushrooms, carrots, peppers and probably more onion than you do. I
also add some form of tomato product. Either juice, sauce, ketchup or chili
powder. Because of food allergies, I use gluten free oatmeal in place of
bread and ground flax in place of egg.

On Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:25:07 GMT, "Julie Bove" >
wrote:


>Because of food allergies, I use gluten free oatmeal in place of
>bread and ground flax in place of egg.

You have food allergies? GASP!!! Whoda thunk?

"Lou Decruss" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:25:07 GMT, "Julie Bove" >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Because of food allergies, I use gluten free oatmeal in place of
>>bread and ground flax in place of egg.
>
> You have food allergies? GASP!!! Whoda thunk?
>
Oatmeal is soooo disgusting in meat loaf. I tried it when my husband's
cholesterol was temporarily high and uck.

Using a baking bag and milk as the liquid makes mine nice and moist.

"cybercat" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Lou Decruss" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:25:07 GMT, "Julie Bove" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Because of food allergies, I use gluten free oatmeal in place of
>>>bread and ground flax in place of egg.
>>
>> You have food allergies? GASP!!! Whoda thunk?
>>
> Oatmeal is soooo disgusting in meat loaf. I tried it when my husband's
> cholesterol was temporarily high and uck.
>
> Using a baking bag and milk as the liquid makes mine nice and moist.

Not disgusting at all. In fact the gourmet store near here makes their
meatloaf with oatmeal. The trick is to whiz them up in the food processor
and then soak them in whatever liquids and vegetables you're adding to get
it to meld. Works very well.

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On 28 Jan 2008 17:28:16 GMT, Ken wrote:
>
>> I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
>> came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish, chopped
>> onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an egg. Baked 1
>> 1/2 hr. at 375.
>
> And 1.5 hours at 375 is way to long for a meat loaf that only has
> 1lb of meat in it. Would you cook a hamburger on the stove for
> 30 minutes?
>
> -sw

I cook my 1 lb loaves for an hour and they cook all the way through. But
you say you have been cooking yours this way for a while. Maybe did you
get some turkey that was injected with a lot of liquid?

Mitch

On 28 Jan 2008 17:28:16 GMT, Ken > wrote:

>I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
>came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish, chopped
>onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an egg. Baked 1
>1/2 hr. at 375.
>
>I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey instead
>of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual. Otherwise
>tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so what can I add
>to make it come out moister?
>
>I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
>meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?
>

yes, i would blame the turkey.

your pal,
blake

On Mon 28 Jan 2008 10:28:16a, Ken told us...

> I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
> came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish, chopped
> onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an egg. Baked 1
> 1/2 hr. at 375.
>
> I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey instead
> of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual. Otherwise
> tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so what can I add
> to make it come out moister?
>
> I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
> meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?
>
> TIA
>

If you're buying commercially ground turkey, some contains skin and some
does not. The ground turkey containing skin will not be as dry.

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Tuesday, 01(I)/29(XXIX)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
'I'd like a herring burger with loads
of mayo.' - Opus
*******************************************

Ken wrote:
> I made meat loaf (actually, turkey loaf) as usual the other day but it
> came out very dry. As usual, 1# ground turkey, TBS horseradish, chopped
> onion, pieces of two slices wet stale bread, salt, and an egg. Baked 1
> 1/2 hr. at 375.
>
> I've made it this way for decades, the past few years with turkey instead
> of beef, but this last time it was much drier than usual. Otherwise
> tasted ok though. It always has been on the dry side, so what can I add
> to make it come out moister?
>
> I checked _Joy of Cooking_ and the oven time and heat seem normal for
> meat loaf. Turkey make it drier than beef?
>
> TIA
>
As other people have said, turkey can be pretty dry. Use a higher
proportion of dark meat to light. I add tomato juice when I make
meatloaf and then baste it with that as it cooks. If you're using
turkey because you don't want to use beef/pork, it probably doesn't
make sense to suggest that you bard the top with bacon, but that's my
inclination;-). You can use turkey bacon, but it won't add much fat.

For only a pound of meat, 1 1/2 hours sounds a bit long.

Try adding tomato juice (or V8) to the mixture so it's pretty wet when
it starts cooking, and then baste it with additional juice as it
cooks. That should help. The only other thing I can think of is to
add shredded zucchini or carrot to the meatloaf mix. They should give
off liquid as they cook.

pat