Reheating meatloaf w/o drying out

[Frosty Melon]

I have three slices of leftover meatloaf from a local organic ready-made hot prepared food market. Any tips for reheating it and keeping it moist? I had the same situation last month and tried reheating it the next day in the microwave, but it was dry and nearly inedible, even with a smear of ketchup. I have it stored now in a ziploc bag which I didn't before, not sure if that'll help. Thanks.

[Jussayin]

Let the meatloaf get to room temp. HAve a liquid ready, approxamately 4 oz. You can use any type of stock, wine, beer, or any other liquid. Just keep in mind if the liquid is salt, like soy sauce, you will need t o water it down and adjust your seasoning. Heat oil in a saute pan until the oil begins to ripple. Season the meatloaf with salt and pepper. Lay meatloaf in pan, placing ing it so it lays away from you. Braown one side, turn it ove and pour liquid in to pan and cover. The thinner the slices of meatloaf, the quicker they will heat through.

[jessicheese]

Probably not what you're looking for, but I can't help myself. My favorite (and only) way of reheating meatloaf stems from a recipe that I used to make from my Betty Crocker Junior Cookbook. I was 8 and it was the first thing I ever made by myself- Frosted Meatloaf. I don't make it anymore, but purposely prepare extra meatloaf as an adult so I can make this the next day

I top the slices of meatloaf with a thin layer of BBQ sauce, a thick layer of mashed potatoes and a slice of American or Chedder cheese. Throw in the toaster oven until the cheese is melty & bubbly. Serve with whatever veggie I'm feeling at the moment. It is my ultimate, Ultimate comfort food.

[Frosty Melon]

Total success using a very small amount (1 T or so) of broth in a glass baking dish at 250 degrees for 25 minutes. Thanks everyone.

[c oliver]

I'm glad it worked out. But, wow, 25 minutes for something that could have been done equally as well, in my very experienced opinion, in about that many seconds. Hopefully, having read all these suggestions, I'm sure you'll experiment going forward.

[Quine]

I agree with you, 25 minutes to reheat 3 slices of meatloaf is not a very green, sorta takes all the organic outa it. Besides isn't leftover meatloaf supposed to be sandwiches? Yum.

[c oliver]

Yes and yes :) I'm pretty much a 'tree-hugger." And, yes, leftover meatloaf is, imo for sandwiches. The very best sandwiches.

[fourunder]

I'd be willing to bet it took less energy to produce the natural gas to heat the meatloaf....than it did to produce the electricity.

[Quine]

But if it was an Electric oven?
Still running anything Oven wise (besides toaster oven) for 25 minutes to warm 3 slices of anything is a bit wasteful IMHO, undoes the organic positives pretty much carbon print-wise.
And I've had some meatloafs that provided a positive carbon print in the natural gas area. ;-)

[fourunder]

But if it was an Electric oven?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Touche......:0)

[Querencia]

I use the beef gravy that comes in a jar and heat the meatloaf in gravy. Microwave or top of stove.

[c oliver]

Doesnt your meatloaf wind up with its own gravy?

[TrishUntrapped]

Microwaving definitely dries out meat. I reheat meatloaf in a small frying pan on the stove over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of beef broth. It accomplishes the steaming aspect but also keeps it flavorful.

[magiesmom]

I do it this way too, sometimes with a couple of tablespoons of coffee. It is actually very good!

[fourunder]

red eye gravy.....

[magiesmom]

I guess so. is red eye just coffee? Drippings too, right? not traditionally served with beef, but this really works.

[c oliver]

If you MW incorrectly, then certainly it dries things out. Just as overcooking by any method does. But as I wrote above, I MW for seconds at a time and it doesn't dry the meat out. I can even do rare steak and keep it rare.

[greygarious]

If you cover the dish and use low power, the microwave does a superb job of reheating cooked meat. Blast it on full power, uncovered, and you'll have jerky. Unless the house is cold, I do not waste power using the stove or oven for reheating unless it's something that needs to be dry or crisp.

[c oliver]

For quite a while now, I've put smaller things on a little cutting board that fits in the MW. I'm guessing the science is that it 'blocks' some of the waves. It really slows down the heating making it great when I have just a little bit of something.

[ipsedixit]

Or just wrap the meatloaf in a damp towel when you pop it in the microwave. It's like steaming ... with radio waves.

Works like a charm.

[c oliver]

Now isn't that a good idea? Thanks, i.

[suzysue2]

I would gently fry it on both sides in a nonstick pan with butter or oil. Yummy, but not necessarily healthy.

[Will Owen]

My mom reheated ours either like that, or laid it in a pan with some gravy or marinara sauce over it and heated it in the oven. I do it that last way more often, sometimes with some sauced pasta underneath.

However, the true purpose of meatloaf slices is not reheating at all, but meatloaf sandwiches. In fact, I will go so far as to say that sandwiches is why meatloaf exists …

[Quine]

Yes I agree. To me the last two steps are left out of every meatloaf recipe, 1) eat some while just out of then, 2) refrigerate a large part of it overnight to make meatloaf sandwiches!

[mamachef]

Low, preheated oven; meatloaf in shallow dish with a few T. broth or bouillion, tightly covered with foil, 20 minutes or so.

[Frosty Melon]

Great, I will try the low temp oven. Wish I'd asked this a month ago. Thanks.

[amyzan]

I would do the same method on the stovetop in a covered pan. No need to heat the oven for a couple slices of meatloaf. There will be less chance of drying it out stovetop, too.

[fourunder]

Low temperature of 225-250 in a prehated oven if you have 20-30 minutes to do so. It's the same way I re-heat Prime Rib or Steaks.

[MGZ]

Bing . . . Bing . . . Bing . . . tell 'em what they've won!

[smtucker]

This is interesting. I generally microwave a slice of meatloaf for approximately 1 to 1.5 minutes with perfect results. My microwave is really old, so more recent versions might be more powerful. I suspect that the results of reheating are a product of the amount of moisture in the meatloaf to start with.

[c oliver]

I do 15 or so seconds at a time, turning the meat after each "session." I think you and I do the same thing just differently.

[Norm Man]

Place the ziplock bag with the meatloaf in boiling water to reheat .

[LauraGrace]

The plastic in zip-top bags is not meant to be heated. This is not a safe use.

[Indirect Heat]

Cover it with tinfoil in the oven?

[ipsedixit]

Steam it.

[LauraGrace]

Yup. I don't have a steamer basket so I just put the meatloaf in a shallow pan, covered, with a couple tablespoons of water, over medium heat.

[chef chicklet]

that's what I'd do.