Make Meatloaf tonight - bake tomorrow? Options

[Anne]

Can I assemble my meatloaf mixture in the loaf pan and just put it in the fridge and bake it tomorrow after work?? Trying to save a bit of time.

[kforkids]

I can't imagine why that wouldn't work. You might want to let it sit out on the counter for 30 minutes prior to baking so that you won't need to increase the baking time.

[Desert Bloom]

This sounds like a great idea!!!!

The only consideration I can think of, is to make sure the meat is being actually cooked by the date on the "freeze or cook by" date on the package.

I love ideas which involved being prepared ahead of time instead of being stressed and trying to think it through at the last minute, thanks for sharing!!!

[MVSDJ]

Anne,
If your meatloaf recipe contains eggs, which I know mine does, I would hold off on making ahead. I would think adding raw egg to raw meat might not be the best combination to let sit for a time, even in the fridge. I would think you would be increasing the likelyhood of e-coli or other food poisoning possiblities.

JMHO
MVSDJ

[jmlflybaby]

My concern is also about food safety...since you'll be handling the meat and possibly adding bacteria when you do it.

What I would do is this....

Prepare and cook to a "rare/medium rare" state..... cool and refrigerate... then cook to "medium" tomorrow.

I, too, would let it sit on the counter a bit (to remove extreme cold), before popping it back in the oven the next day.

[Summer2]

My rule for cooking meat is that once it hits room temperature, it should be cooked. So making meatloaf ahead of time is warming the meat which would allow bacteria to grow for the next 24 hours prior to cooking. Not a good idea.

[Desert Bloom]

Hi Ladies,

Regardless of the food safety or possible bacteria, I vote for just putting it in the oven once because it is less hassle overall, and would not require the expense of extra energy to heat the oven twice.

A possibility could be to just cook it the first day and then slice and reheat quickly in the toaster oven, at the actual time of eating. I'm not that wild about cooking, so I tend to look for the easiest thing to do.

So, I would probably prepare, cook and refrigerate 3 meatloaves. The next day I would slice all of them and freeze (in amounts equal to enough slices for a meal), all the slices which were not on the menu right away.

This is a little bit more work up front, but for this minimal extra effort, we would be able to have meatloaf 5 times, and only prepare and cook it once, (since we eat 1/2 meatloaf per meal).