# Cooking question: Meatloaf **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2002, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552 "2002-11-24T23:59:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2002, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/1 "2002-11-24T23:59:25Z")
I bought a pre-made meatloaf at the grocery store. Unfortunately, there are no instructions anywhere on the package. It is 2.72 pounds - how long, at what temp, should I cook it? It is in a foil pan, no tomato sauce on it. 2.72 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/2 "2002-11-25T00:04:24Z")
Try 1 hr. at 350F. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/3 "2002-11-25T00:06:17Z")
Were the words "pre-cooked{ on the package? Hopefully not. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/4 "2002-11-25T00:14:00Z")
Definitely not pre-cooked. An hour? I’ll try that, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/5 "2002-11-25T00:40:09Z")
For the future, you could always get a meat thermometer. It should read about 160 degrees when done. A very useful tool in the kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/6 "2002-11-25T00:46:10Z")
I have a couple meat thermometers. I never use them though, I’m not much of a cook. ☹ I’ll use one this time though. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/7 "2002-11-25T01:35:13Z")
EDDIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/8 "2002-11-25T01:39:25Z")
Norinew, it would take a helluva lot longer than one hour to cook Meatloaf. What? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/9 "2002-11-25T03:45:44Z")
Actually, an hour at 350 is about right for a two pound meatloaf. Guess it just depends on how you want it to taste. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/10 "2002-11-25T03:55:36Z")
I think Meatloaf weighs way more than two pounds, though. What? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/11 "2002-11-25T04:07:09Z")
Yeah, bake at 350 for an hour. But check it at 45 minutes to make sure you haven’t burned it. If it looks done you might want to take it out and slice it open to see if there’s any pink left. If it still has some pink put it back in and bake some more. Some kinds of meat are good rare, meatloaf is not one of those kinds. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/12 "2002-11-25T04:18:50Z")
Hopefully your meat thermometer solved everything. If you don’t post back here how it came out, we will collectivley hound you around this board and hunt you down like the villagers in “Frankenstein.” Have a nice day. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cooking-question-meatloaf/138552/13 "2002-11-25T05:35:56Z")
I used the meat thermometer - it turned out great! I let it get up to 170°, to be extra sure it was done. When it comes to cooking, without explicit instructions I am lost. For the record, it took slightly over an hour.