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Mushroom-flavored Meatloaf

A loaf of ground meat with mushrooms, bread crumbs, Parmesan, and herbs, baked until cooked.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Mushroom and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,557 recipes mention both. Both carry methyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells apple, fatty. The science ↓

The recipe

Oven350°F

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Prepare

  1. Heat oven to 350°F.

  2. Line a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with foil.

  3. Cover a wire rack with foil; prick foil in several places with a fork. Place rack in pan; set aside.

  4. Pulse bread in a food processor to make fine crumbs. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.

  5. In a small cup combine 1 tablespoon bread crumbs, 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon Parmesan; set aside.

Make the mixture

  1. In a 12-inch skillet, heat remaining olive oil over medium heat.

  2. Add mushrooms, scallions and garlic; sauté until mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently, 5 to 7 minutes.

  3. Transfer mushroom mixture to food processor and process until finely chopped.

  4. In a large bowl, gently combine ground meat, plain bread crumbs, mushroom mixture, cream, water, egg, remaining Parmesan, salt, thyme, pepper and all but 2 tablespoons parsley. Mix until evenly blended.

Shape and bake

  1. Transfer mixture to a work surface and form into a 9- by 5-inch loaf.

  2. Place loaf on prepared rack.

  3. Bake for 1 hour.

  4. Sprinkle top of loaf with bread-crumb topping. Bake until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into center of loaf registers 160°F for chuck or 165°F for turkey and bread-crumb topping is nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes more.

  5. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Garnish with reserved 2 tablespoons parsley.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Mushroom + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

  2. Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together23,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Olive + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,641 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).

  4. Garlic + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together5,608 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Olive + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ground chuck or ground turkey
Provides the main body and protein structure that holds the loaf together when cooked.
Heavy cream
Adds moisture and fat, keeping the loaf tender and juicy rather than dry.
Egg
Binds the meat and crumbs so the loaf holds its shape when sliced.
Bread crumbs
Absorb liquid and keep the meat moist, softening the texture of the loaf.
Parmesan
Adds savory, salty flavour and some browning on the crust.
Mushrooms
Add moisture and savory, umami depth to the meat mixture.

The step that matters

Bake until the thermometer reads 160°F for chuck or 165°F for turkey. Ground meat must reach a safe internal temperature, and overbaking dries the loaf. Checking with an instant-read thermometer in the centre avoids guessing by appearance.

Flavor stand-ins for the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, olive, mushroom, turkey, cream, egg, thyme):

  1. Marjorambetter flavor fit
  2. Parsleyabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Rosemaryabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, olive, mushroom, turkey, cream, egg, thyme. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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