The Tangy Ingredient You Should Use For Moist Meatloaf

Sometimes meat loaf gets lumped into the category of antiquated meals that aren't as exciting as other things you could cook. When made correctly, however, meatloaf can be a tender, flavorful and very satisfying meal that is anything but outdated. It's classic. If you've ever had really good meatloaf at a restaurant or served to you by a friend or family member, you know how comforting and delicious it is. It's perfect for a Sunday supper paired with mashed potatoes. But how can you make this classic dish shine?

Meatloaf is much more than just making a mound of ground meat and baking it. If you're newer to making meatloaf and you don't know about the right techniques for using binders in your meatloaf mix, your loaf could come out dry and a bit crumbly. However, when the right binding agent is incorporated into the recipe, there's magic. 

While many recipes will call for ingredients like eggs and breadcrumbs to assist with keeping the loaf together, there are a few other tips and tricks you can employ to get a moist and tasty dish.

It might be a bit counterintuitive to think of adding dairy to a meat dish, but in this case, it's the secret ingredient that makes the meatloaf truly special. As The Takeout explains, adding buttermilk to your meatloaf mixture can not only add moisture and work as a binding agent, but it also adds a tangy flavor. For those uninitiated, buttermilk is a liquid that is generated during the butter making process that is then mildly fermented. Its flavor is somewhat similar to that of yogurt.

According to Serious Eats, buttermilk adds a more complex depth of flavor to the dish that gives it a unique taste. The Takeout recommends soaking your breadcrumbs in buttermilk before adding them to your meatloaf mixture while Taste of Home notes that adding garlic will increase the tangy flavor.

While these techniques wouldn't work for someone who is sensitive to dairy, it can work wonders for your recipe if dairy is a part of your regular diet. Try this technique next time you make meatloaf and your dish is guaranteed to be dubbed a classic.