Bill Blass’s Meatloaf Recipe (2024)

Recipe from "New York Cookbook"

Adapted by The New York Times

Bill Blass’s Meatloaf Recipe (1)

Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Rating
4(1,968)
Notes
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This homespun, bacon-wrapped version of the American classic is attributed to Bill Blass, the world-famous clothing designer of the 60s, 70s and 80s, who is perhaps best known for dressing First Lady Nancy Reagan and the upper echelons of New York society. While he became hugely successful – he reportedly sold his business for $50 million in 1999 – his culinary tastes remained firmly Midwestern. From his 2002 obituary in The Times: “A man of robust but simple tastes who would go out of his way for a hamburger, Mr. Blass would serve guests his own meatloaf recipe, followed perhaps by lemon meringue pie. He always maintained, only partly in jest, ‘My claim to immortality will be my meatloaf.’” This is his recipe. —The New York Times

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • 1cup chopped celery
  • 1onion, chopped
  • 3tablespoons butter
  • 2pounds ground beef sirloin
  • ½pound ground veal
  • ½pound ground pork
  • ½cup chopped fresh parsley
  • cup sour cream
  • ½cup soft bread crumbs
  • ¼teaspoon dried thyme
  • ¼teaspoon dried marjoram
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1egg
  • 1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • cups Heinz chili sauce
  • 3slices bacon

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

557 calories; 37 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 37 grams protein; 920 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Bill Blass’s Meatloaf Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. In a heavy skillet over medium heat, saute the celery and onion in the butter until soft, about 5 minutes. Scrape into a large mixing bowl and cool.

  2. When the onions are cool enough to handle, add the meats, parsley, sour cream, bread crumbs, thyme, marjoram and salt and pepper to the bowl. Whisk the egg with the Worcestershire sauce and add to the mixture. Using a wooden spoon or your hands, combine the mixture and mold into the shape of a loaf.

  3. Step

    3

    Place the meatloaf in the prepared pan. Top with the chili sauce and bacon slices. Bake until firm and nicely browned, about 1 hour.

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4

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1,968

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

SteveF

You can, but the resulting meatloaf will be dry and unmemorable. If your substitution is on health grounds, consider using ground bison instead. The veal is only there for its collagen content, which keeps the meatloaf moist, but it can be completely replaced by adding 1/4 tsp gelatin per pound of meat.

Jim Rogala

Cook's Illustrated tip:
Wrap a cooling rack in foil. Punch holes for fat to drain. Place in rimmed sheet. Put free-form loaf on top.
Fat drains into rimmed sheet.

Suzanne

I've made this meatloaf for years and love it. However, I've found that a 3lb meatloaf takes longer than an hour to cook though, so I shape it into two free-form loaves and bake in a pan. Also I've never had much luck getting the bacon strips to a decent crispness without all the grease. So I cook them just enough to render some fat and then add on top for the last 15 minutes or so. My other favorite is Maple-Glazed Meatloaf also available on the NY Times Cooking site. Yumm.

Scott A Hessler

The recipe for Heinz Chili Sauce has changed since BB's time. Suggest Bennett's as a substitute if you can find it.

TammyR

Very good BUT a couple of things to note:1) NEEDS SALT! At least a 1to 1 1/2 tsp.2) Don’t use sirloin. Even with the fat in the pork it’s too dry!3) William Sonoma makes a great meatloaf pan. It’s their “gold”series and it has a perforated insert in the pan that you lift out and leave the fat/liquid behind. It’s about 10x5 and is the perfect size for this recipe. Otherwise this recipe will overfill an 8x4 pan.4) It takes longer than an hour to cook. Use a meat thermometer.

AnneC

I haven't made this recipe yet, but I plan to. One thing I noticed in the comments is that a lot of people complain about the grease. Here's a tip: when I make meatloaf, I take a raw carrot and slice it down the middle to make two long pieces. Lay those in the bottom of your loaf pan then put the meat mixture on top. As it bakes, the carrots allow the grease to drip off the loaf to the bottom of the pan, rendering the meatloaf relatively grease free, but still moist.

Kim

Following the closure of Mortimer's, Bill's meatloaf recipe (which was served there and later at Swifty's) was published in a small privately published commemorative booklet which I believe nails many of the recipes spot-on. It differs from the NYT recipe in two respects: the loaf is hand-molded, and not cooked in a pan, and the cooking time is 75 minutes, not one hour.

Sharon

Hasn't anyone just followed the recipe? It really is quite good. Don't try and change it.

Abby James

Years ago Ann Landers wrote her Mother’s meatloaf recipe and I use it all the time!. Simple...2 lbs ground chuck, 1 envelope onion soup mix, 3/4 cup ketchup, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup water. Mix all together (I use my handsJ. Pat in a loaf pan and top with 2 strips of bacon. Serve with addition ketchup if you like. That, a baked potato and salad are an easy school night dinner. The leftovers make great sandwiches.

Jen

This is the best meatloaf recipe ever. I used Sriracha ketchup for the topping and a loaf pan. With the loaf pan method, create a small channel in one corner of the meat where grease will collect. Use a baster to suck out the grease at half way point and again just after pulling from the over.

Hudson Tripp

I have found that Peter Luger sauce is a very good replacement for Heinz chili sauce. I think Mr Blass would not frown upon this.

Jman50

I would never use a loaf pan. All it does is trap all of the grease.

Marqua1

McCall's magazine published a set of recipe cards in the 1970's. I still have that recipe card for McCall's "roast meatloaf"and it is so very similar to Bill Blass' meatloaf that it is hard to tell them apart! Both are exceptionally good meatloaf recipes! I put this one on our "family dinner" table and it was like the return of an old friend......

Sandra

I use ground turkey instead of veal, and spicey sausage for the pork.

jen b

This was super tasty. I substituted ricotta for sour cream because that's what I had in the fridge & it was great. And of course I didn't have chili sauce, so I used ketchup and a hot sauce....

Jon B

Made as written, with the exception of Heinz chili sauce (made my own), this came out quite good. The loaf overfills an 8x4 pan, so use a foil-lined rimmed sheet pan underneath to catch the grease overflow. Also, 1 hour cook time is unrealistic. It took closer to 2 hours in my oven at 350 to get the center to 160. Would make again.

Eric G

Turns out great in a loaf pan, just pour off fat after removed from the oven - no biggie. 2 pounds of meat yields a perfect loaf for a standard loaf pan.

neurodrew

Best meatloaf recipe I know of. I often double the pork and omit the veal

Ann Mentis

Used 1lb beef, 1lb bison, 1lb porkFresh thyme and oregano (approx one Tablespoon each).

NJMeador

Meatloaf is done at 160 degrees

Patty Zach

I made this meatloaf last week, after running all over town seeking the specified pan size. finding Heinz chili sauce, and rarest of all, ground veal. The price of the veal was close to filet mignon! I followed the recipe exactly - VERY disappointing and bland. Cooked 75 min because the loaf was too big for an hour. Attempts to slice produced big lumps which were falling apart. Recapping my time, effort, and expense leads me to DELETE Bill Blass from my recipe box.

Stoobee

This recipe is really good! The sour cream adds a nice tang to it. I don't eat veal so left that out and doubled the pork. Also used a perforated bottom meatloaf pan where a lot of the fat drips away. Did not affect the tenderness of the meatloaf at all.

dlyons

i added more onions and used the cast iron pan (from sauteing the celery and onions to cook the meat loaf. Cooked it at 375 and It took a bit more than an hour to cook.

ElizabethL

I prefer chili sauce on top

Mary Jane R.

Delicious meatloaf! We have a family of three so I split into two loaf pans so I could save one loaf in the freezer. As recommended by others I put the loaves on carrots so they weren't cooking in the fat. Didnt have Chile sauce so I made my own using ketchup, garlic powder, brown sugar, and honey. FABULOUS!

Nicole Donahue

Split it; baked one in a loaf shape on a cookie sheet and one in the loaf pan as directed. Bill knows best; the loaf pan produced best results. Used 1 lb each beef, veal and pork. Delicious and adding to the rotation.

Elizabeth in NC

Trader Joe's sells a Sriracha and Roasted Garlic BBQ sauce that is a great replacement for the Heinz chili sauce :)

kK

Use caution: the loaf pan catches nothing but over flowing grease. the bottom of my oven is caked in burnt grease now. Thumbs wayyyyyy down

Mary Lou

Please don't use veal.Try substituting lamb.

Sarah

This is a great meat loaf. We increases the herbs an divided it in two for baking. We did not have veal so used 2 lbs of pork.

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Bill Blass’s Meatloaf Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why put ketchup in meatloaf? ›

Whether you slather a thick layer of ketchup on top of the meatloaf before it goes into the oven, add a few tablespoons to the ground meat mixture, or serve extra ketchup on the side, this tangy-sweet, umami-rich condiment balances out the richness of the beef, making it an essential part of the dish.

Why milk instead of water in meatloaf? ›

Is it better to add milk or water in meatloaf? Without question, it is better to use milk in meatloaf. The added fat adds richness and moist texture to the meatloaf, and the added milk proteins encourage additional browning reactions (which means more flavor).

What is the basic meatloaf formula? ›

The Basic Meatloaf Formula

All recipes for meatloaf start with the same basic formula: 2 pounds of ground meat and a “panade” made of bread or crackers soaked in milk. Along with a few eggs, this panade helps to hold the ground meat together and adds some essential moisture to the mix.

What makes meatloaf not fall apart? ›

The answer lies in the binding ingredient. Binding ingredients are the items that, quite literally, pull your dish together. In meatloaf, this is most commonly the eggs and breadcrumbs.

What do you put in meatloaf to keep it from falling apart? ›

Eggs: Like the breadcrumbs and milk, eggs act as a binding agent to hold the meatloaf together. We found two eggs did the trick.

Do you cover meatloaf when baking? ›

Should I cook my meatloaf covered or uncovered? The meatloaf can be cooked uncovered. However, if you are concerned about it burning, you can cover the meatloaf with foil for the first 45 minutes and uncover it for the final 15 minutes to allow the meatloaf to brown on top.

What not to put in meatloaf? ›

Onions, garlic and celery do pose one problem though: they don't cook down easily. Little bits of crunchy onion or celery or potent, hot garlic will spoil the comforting aspect of eating meatloaf.

What does adding an extra egg to meatloaf do? ›

Eggs Add Structure

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 together and get the loaf to set in a stable form without the need to overwork the meat.

What is the best binder for meatloaf? ›

If you don't have any bread, you can substitute it for breadcrumbs, crackers, cereal grains, oatmeal, instant rice, instant barley, or even potato flakes! However, bread is still the best choice of all the potential options.

How do you keep meatloaf from getting tough? ›

To get a meatloaf that is moist (not dry) we need two things: binders and temperature control. When making meatloaf or meatballs, it's standard practice to add some kind of breadcrumb/cracker meal/soaked bread as well as eggs and, often, milk.

Does ketchup tenderize meat? ›

A few people opined that ketchup has all the ingredients like sugar, vinegar, and tomato that would make for a good marinade, and they aren't wrong. Since ketchup is acidic, it helps tenderize tough cuts of meat by breaking down the tough fibers.

What does ketchup do in cooking? ›

One of ketchup's virtues is that it is a little sweet; most versions contain sugar, honey, or corn syrup. And it's that sugar that makes it a valuable ingredient in marinades for grilled or broiled meats where you want good browning but a relatively short cooking time, such as our Grilled London Broil.

How do you keep meatloaf from sticking to the pan? ›

Parchment paper is a great option to line your pan the next time you cook meatloaf. It prevents the meat from sticking to the pan resulting in a meatloaf that is evenly cooked all the way through and looks ready to eat.

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