Meatloaf help

[Diane AKA Traska]

I'm making a five pound meatloaf (for numerous reasons, no turkey this year), and I was wondering... when you make a meatloaf with five pounds of meat, what size pan should you use?  Would an 8 x 8 be okay?

[Outdoor Girl]

I think that's too small.

With 5 pounds of meat, I would shape the meat into a large loaf and put it in my roasting pan that I use for smaller turkeys (~15 lbs or less).  If you have one of those removable rack things, you can cover the rack in foil and then it is easy to lift the meatloaf out and slide it off onto a platter.

Alternatively, you could make smaller ones, seasoning them all differently.

[Zilla]

You can free form it onto a large cookie sheet.  And drain it halfway through the cooking process.

[Zilla]

An example:
http://goodsensegoodhealth.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/meatloaf-002.jpg

[Kaypeep]

I would split it into 2 loafs to ensure it's cooked through and the outside/ends don't get dried out.  Five pounds seems a bit large to me and I wouldn't want to test cooking methods with a holiday dinner without practice beforehand.

[JenJay]

Whenever I make meatloaf I always use 2-2.5lbs of meat (hamburger and mild Italian sausage) and form it into a loaf shape on a broiling pan (like this http://tinyurl.com/agzyony) then bake as usual. The pan offers just enough support to maintain the shape and just enough holes to allow the grease to drain. We love it!

edited to add - If you line the pan with foil or put enough water in it to cover the bottom cleanup will be much easier. 

[Diane AKA Traska]

Hmm.  I may mix up five pounds of 'loaf, and only bake half/a third of it, and make the rest later or some such.

It's not really a big holiday dinner (just M and I), but I consider leftovers a part of any holiday meal.  It's not Thanksgiving if you're cooking the next day. 

[Outdoor Girl]

You can put preformed loaves in the freezer and bake them another day, as long as your hamburger wasn't previously frozen.  If it was, you can cook the loaves and freeze them and then just heat them up when you want them.

[jpcher]

I would split it into 2 loafs to ensure it's cooked through and the outside/ends don't get dried out.  Five pounds seems a bit large to me and I wouldn't want to test cooking methods with a holiday dinner without practice beforehand.

^This.

along with your added post, about only baking 1/2 the meat, I agree with Outdoor Girl, cook it all up and then freeze the leftovers.

I use the small tin-foil loaf pans for easy baking/freezing/re-heating.

[doodlemor]

I would split it into 2 loafs to ensure it's cooked through and the outside/ends don't get dried out.  Five pounds seems a bit large to me and I wouldn't want to test cooking methods with a holiday dinner without practice beforehand.

I agree with this also.  Be sure that you use big enough pans that it won't drip over and grease up your oven. 

Usually I microwave meatloaf, and put a glass in the center to make it into a ring so that it doesn't end up with a pink center.  Making a ring in a conventional oven might work, too, so that the outside doesn't dry before the center is done.

[sourwolf]

8"x8" is too small, even for just 2.5lbs of meat.  I usually free form mine put it onto a cookie rack and put that on top of a cookie sheet double lined with foil. 

[Thipu1]

Forgive my asking but why would you make a five pound meatloaf for two people?  That sounds sort of like the joke definition of eternity -- two people and a ham. 

Properly cooking a meatloaf that large is iffy, especially is the mixture contains pork. 

I join the two loaf camp.

[Diane AKA Traska]

The same reason that when I make a turkey, it's a 20 pound turkey... leftovers are half the tradition.

[magician5]

I would split it into 2 loafs to ensure it's cooked through and the outside/ends don't get dried out.  Five pounds seems a bit large to me and I wouldn't want to test cooking methods with a holiday dinner without practice beforehand.

POD - definitely. What weight does your cookbook (ANY cookbook) recommend? Divide your 5 pounds by that weight and cook 5 of them if that's what it takes.