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Why does my meatloaf fall apart when I cut it for serving. I used 2 eggs and 1 cup of breadcrumbs in the loaf. I just don't get it.

Jolenealaska
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Mjs
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    It's hard to say without seeing your recipe, but it's probably either too wet a mix or possibly not enough egg (which acts as a binder). – ElendilTheTall Dec 12 '16 at 14:05
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    We need a recipe. My first impulse was to suggest that perhaps you didn't let it rest long enough. – Jolenealaska Dec 12 '16 at 14:46
  • I used two eggs and 1 cup bread crumbs. Don't get it – Mjs Dec 13 '16 at 01:36
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    Mjs, we really need a full recipe or ratio of ingredients and how you prepare it. If users ask, it's not to pester you, but to help you get a qualified answer that fits *your specific problem*. More on this if you take the [tour] and browse our [help]. For now, I have to vote to close this as "too broad" (= too many possible reasons, what could go wrong). Once you have [edit] your post, I'll retract the close vote or vote to re-open the question. Welcome to Seasoned Advice! I know the learning curve can be steep, but it's worth it. We are here to help, ping us, if you need us. – Stephie Dec 13 '16 at 06:47
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    @Mjs : 2 eggs and 1c. bread crumbs for how much meat? And I'm with jolenealaska, and suspect it's cutting into it almost immediately after taking it out of the oven. – Joe Dec 13 '16 at 14:20
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    And anyone else concerned with how eager people are to close questions these days? In the past, we'd change it to something like 'What are the reasons that (x) could happen?' or 'What should I do or avoid if I'm having problems with (x)'. Then we got into that whole 'there should be only one possible correct answer' which is a load of crap. There are *lots* of different solutions for most problems. – Joe Dec 13 '16 at 14:23
  • @Joe I share your concern. I would rather save questions if possible. On the other hand, we like to see questions closed by the community instead of bringing down the mod hammer. Since the OP has come back at least once to give us more information, they might again. If significant time passes without more information, it can be reevaluated. – Jolenealaska Dec 13 '16 at 19:52
  • Especially if we're going to generalize, let's take this to meta: [How should we approach vague questions?](http://meta.cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/3301/how-should-we-approach-vague-questions). (For here, I'll just note that the standard close reason, if something truly does not have enough information to answer, is "unclear what you're asking", not "too broad".) – Cascabel Dec 13 '16 at 20:47

2 Answers2

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Cook at a slightly lower temperature (until meat thermometer in center = 160 degrees). Let it sit before you cut it. Cut with sharpest knife you can. Less breadcrumbs (or no breadcrumbs) -- you can try using oatmeal instead. Only one egg, and add some other liquid ingredients like tomato paste or sauce or Worscheshire sauce or even a little bit of Cream of Mushroom soup (not my fave but it works). Add a small amount of water if desired. Choose ground beef that is not the leanest kind, it holds together better. You can also mix different types (80/20 and 90/10) or mix another ground meat like pork in there too for slightly different texture.

Recipe I'd try: 1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef 1/2 cup bread crumbs [or oatmeal]* (optional) 1 can of condensed tomato soup (other kinds work too) 1 egg 1 small onion finely chopped (about 1/4 cup) 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce ground black pepper 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup water

Mix the beef, 1/2 the can of soup, bread crumbs, egg, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Place the beef mixture into a loaf pan and shape firmly into desired loaf shape. Pour the rest of the soup over the top of the meatloaf. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until center reaches 160 degrees. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Jeremiah Pallindrone
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Is the burger to lean? I add some porkfat ground to mine. Or it crumbles.This is water buffalo burger that I use.

J Bergen
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