pantry. I made a couple loaves side by side, one with an
equal mix of ground chuck, ground pork, and ground veal,
and the second one with a mix of ground chuck, ground
pork, and a couple tablespoons of unflavored gelatin
hydrated in a bit of chicken stock and cooked until
dissolved (I made sure to add the same amount of chicken
stock to the first loaf as well). Texturewise, both loaves
proved to be moist and tender. Flavorwise, the no-veal loaf
had a clear advantage.
Gelatin it is.
Meat Loaf Binders and Extenders
So, up to now, what we’ve essentially got is something
that’s halfway between a burger and a sausage. It’s got the
basic fat content of a burger, with the key difference being
that the salt is mixed right into the meat rather than just
seasoning the exterior. We all know what happens when
you add salt to meat before mixing it, right? It causes the
meat to become sticky and bind with itself as the salt slowly
dissolves muscle proteins. But this is not a good thing for
meat loaf, where tenderness and a loose, velvety texture are
desired above all. We can mitigate those effects by adding
the salt immediately before mixing and only mixing as
much as necessary, but there are better ways to improve
texture—namely, with binders and additives. Let’s look at
the most common ones to determine what role they play.
Eggs are an ingredient in nearly every meat loaf, and they
have two distinct roles. 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