The Perfect Meatloaf Pan

We've all seen infomercials. Recently, I saw the one for the Perfect Meatloaf and was intrigued because...well...my family likes meatloaf. I really liked the "lift out" tray which would keep the grease off of the meatloaf. However, even though I was interested in the pan, I'm not one to order something sight unseen off TV.

Last week, I was in Walmart Neighborhood Market and since it is so close to Christmas, they had a lot of things that they normally wouldn't carry. I came across a display of the Perfect Meatloaf pan for $14.95. It just so happened that my mom's birthday was in a few days and the meal I was going to make for her included meatloaf. I thought...why not? Merry Christmas to me.

The pan set included a loaf pan, an aerated tray with handles, and a recipe guide. I hand washed the pan and tray and while it was drying, looked over the recipe guide. It included 8 different meatloaf recipes along with a stuffed pepper and a pork loin recipe.

I have my own meatloaf recipe that I've used for years that is a family favorite, so I didn't use one of the recipes in the guide. I did set the oven to 350 degrees and set  the cooking time for 1 hour for 2 pounds of ground beef since all of the recipes used those guidelines.

I mixed my meatloaf ingredients and following the instructions, coated the pan with a non stick cooking spray before putting the meatloaf in. The 2 pounds of ground beef fit nicely into the pan, and into the oven it went.

One hour later, I took the meatloaf out of the oven. I used a butter knife and ran it around the edges of the meatloaf before using the handles of the tray to lift the meatloaf out of the pan. It lifted out and transferred easily to a cutting board.

I let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing to put on a serving platter. Up until now, everything went very well. When I tried slicing, it did not slice as easy as the commercial shows. The box clearly says that the meatloaf will not fall apart and that was a problem, but it could have been caused by needing another 10-15 minutes of cooking time. The very middle was pink.

(FYI: The reason that ketchup is only on half of it is because the Dear Hubby prefers brown gravy)

So Let's Review:

The price was $14.95. The pan is basically a loaf pan. You can purchase a similar loaf pan at Walmart for $6.99. That means you are paying an additional $7.96 for the lift out tray and the recipe guide. A little pricey but since I've never found a lift out tray that will fit a loaf pan, I feel the price can be justified.

The recipe guide has some interesting recipes but I imagine I could find all of them online.

The meatloaf did lift out very easy from the pan which was a definite plus.

It did not slice as easy as I expected and the inside was very pink. However, I think the next time I use the pan, I will pack the meatloaf a little tighter to see if that helps with the slicing and will bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

To sum it up: I anticipate that with some adjustments and some trial and error, I will eventually get "The Perfect Meatloaf."

Join me next time and we will Review something New...