Ratloaf (Halloween Meatloaf)

I made exactly as written and exact measurements. I did use pearl onions for the eyes as the recipe submitter mentioned. The one thing that didn't work for me was the cheese. I checked it after an hour of bake time and the 5 minute rest and it hadn't even begun to melt. I put him back in for another 30 minutes which way overcooked the onions on top and the cheese still never melted. This was fun and something the kiddo's are bound to enjoy but I recommend using a better melting cheese such as American or Mozzarella.

I made this recipe for friends on Halloween night. I reduced the amount of milk by half. It was fantastic! It has become my husbands favorite meatloaf recipe hands down. The volume of the original recipe caused me to rename my loaf: "possum road-kill" instead of ratloaf.

I made the recipe exactly as is. I knew it would take longer to cook. I also have an oven with a "HI" or "LO" broil. I used "HI" to start - but after about 30 minutes the top burnt. I switched to "LO" at the 45 minute mark - and kept cooking an extra 15 minutes. The middle bottom half was not cooked thoroughly. So next time, I would halve the amounts (it's pretty huge) and cook for same time or 1hr 15 on a "LO" broil. OR keep as is and cook for 45 minutes on 'LO" and switch to high at the last 20 minutes. It's also Impossible (for me) to figure out if the cheese was melted without destroying the rat. Maybe the recipe owners have some suggestions?

People loved the ratloaf for dinner. I did use only 1/2 the milk. The other thing is that it took about 1.5 hours to cook. It makes a ton.

We made this last year for Halloween and it was a big hit! I actually made two rats out of it so it would cook faster, and used breadcrumbs for the "fur." It was both delicious and deliciously creepy. The pasta whiskers, olive nose, and cocktail onion eyes that we used made it!

LOVED IT!!!! Great for Halloween! I made just a few changes---made a smaller loaf, cooked on 350, 5 minutes with foil, 45 minutes no foil. Otherwise followed directions. IT WAS SUPER----The raw picture really is better but added the finished photo instead----Thanks for the IDEA!!!!