Empire Meatloaf product reviews

I am a meat loaf fanatic I am a meat lover and eating meatloaf is the ultimate for me, and I make a pretty good meat loaf from years of practice so when I found this recipe I just had to try it out to see what it was like.

Anyway I didn't have all the ingredients on the list so I substituted some....I replaced the fresh thyme with dried basil as basil is one of my favourite herbs to use. I also used wholemeal wheat bread instead of the white breadcrumbs....and I didn't have a can of tomatoes so whizzed up fresh tomatoes.

I chucked all the ingredients in a bowl and when it was mixed together the meatloaf mixture seemed very wet to me ...well wetter than the meatloaf mixture I am used to making. I loved that the meatloaf was cooked in the juice of the remaining tomatoes and sauce and I used water because I didn't have stock.

The smell while it was in the oven was great it had me salivating the smell was that good. I basted the meat loaf with the juice that it was cooking in, and I had my fingers crossed this extra liquid didn't make the meatloaf to wet where it would fall apart.

The finished meatloaf smelled great, was cooked to a golden brown perfectness. The outer crust of the meatloaf was very deceiving though...because once I cut the first piece and tried to transfer it to the plate it fell apart. So not so much a loaf but a crumbly chunky meat type meal. Granted the mince tasted great because of the ingredients but in no way had my meat loaf stick together in a loaf form once it was cut into slices. The appearance when the meatloaf was whole was perfect but once cut up the nice appearance disappeared :(

Not sure if I would make this again to the recipe but with some modifications this meatloaf recipe would be a winner in my books....I will be making it again that is sure.

When it comes to food, I admit I am a total carnivore... if it used to walk around, and someone else can process it for me, I'll cook it and eat it. So when the advert popped up on TV showing this dish being prepared, I simply had to try it out for myself.

After a quick trip to the supermarket to buy a few ingredients notably lacking in my pantry, I set to work and started assembling this recipe. I found it really easy to make, with simple ingredients. I even had fun making my own breadcrumbs using the Magic Bullet blender... 3 slices whizzed up in 2 batches took less than 20 seconds and gave me the required amount easily.

After cooking, and letting it stand for a few minutes, I carved out some slices and served them up with some mixed veges in a thick cheese sauce, and some delisho Kumara Hash Browns, drizzled with the juices from the meatloaf pan.

The only downside I found was that the meatloaf didn't really want to stay intact while warm, only once it had cooled to almost room temperature. This made it a bit tough to present in a fancy way... next time I think I will toast the bread before crumbing it, so that it can absorb more moisture during cooking.

Overall, a really tasty, easy meat dish to make, and if worst comes to worst and it is a bit crumbly... you could always do what I did... break it up and serve it on toast as savoury mince, with some grated cheese and a poached egg or two.