Iron Skillet Meatloaf

Photo: Chunks of crisp-crusted meatloaf  and stir-fried cabbage

I just realized that I might be a meatloaf snob. How did that happen when years ago any meatloaf was something to avoid? Meatloaf, "a mixture of smooshed up mystery ingredients and fat," has somehow morphed into a favorite winter entree. It may be a favorite but I am still reluctant to risk an unknown restaurant version that might be boringly bland, dry and crumbly, or horrors! greasy and edged with a pale, soggy crust. 

Ree's bacon-draped version is popular, but I'd rather enjoy the bacon by itself. Alton's ketchup-glazed crust doesn't tempt me. Nigella stuffs her meatloaf with hard boiled eggs and wraps it with bacon; mmmm, no thank you, that's a casserole not a meatloaf. A Marcella Rosene recipe for "Brown-Bottom Meat Loaf" (Pasta & Co. By Request, 1991), might have spoiled me for other versions. I occasionally tweak the original to reflect RL's input or what's available in the galley, but I never stray far from the original. Today's version omitted the usual minced carrots, substituted barbecue sauce for ketchup and swapped milk for half and half. No drastic differences here, no reason to mess around with a good recipe.      

It's all about meatloaf's Big 3: the flavor, the texture and the crust, a really crisp browned crust. A hot oven and a cast iron skillet will produce the best crust, yielding a meatloaf with a brown bottom and firm, structured sides. A quick flash under the oven broiler takes care of crisping up the top a bit. 

I can practice restraint when dining in public and use knife and fork plus my very best table manners, but at home I'll pinch off nibbles of crispy, browned crust, one after another. I love those crunchy edges and tend to ignore the soft, flavorful middle - at least until I visualize a sandwich. A cold meatloaf sandwich with an inch-thick slice of meat, slathered with grainy yellow mustard and creamy horseradish, topped with dill pickle slices and layered between dark rye bread, just might be more satisfying than a generous serving of meatloaf fresh from the oven. Maybe. It's a close contest.   

Tonight, mindful of portion control, I covered my small plate with a mound of stir-fried cabbage with onion and fennel seed, plus two puny chunks of delicious, well-seasoned, crispy-crusted meatloaf. Such restraint... RL went for seconds. Now I'll dream about cold meatloaf sandwiches until lunchtime tomorrow.  

Photo: Iron Skillet Meatloaf - minus one nibble of a crusty edge

Iron Skillet Brown Bottom Meat Loaf

inspired by a recipe in Pasta &Company by Request                              
Serves 4

                

1/2 cup onion, small dice           

1/3 cup jalapeño or poblano pepper, minced

1/3 cup celery, small dice        

2 fat cloves garlic, pressed

                  

2 eggs, beaten                                     

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup whole milk

3/4 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp each salt and black pepper

1/8 tsp chipotle or ancho chile powder

1/4 tsp sweet, smoked paprika (pimenton)

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 pound ground beef 

1/2 pound pork sausage

1/3 cup bread crumbs 

10-inch cast iron skillet, well seasoned

Soften the diced onion, pepper, celery and garlic in a covered dish in the microwave OR in the skillet with a bit of butter. Remove and let cool.

Preheat oven to 375.

In large bowl, beat together thoroughly the eggs, barbecue sauce, milk, cumin, salt, black pepper, chipotle powder, smoked paprika and nutmeg. Add beef, pork sausage & bread crumbs. Knead together by hand until well incorporated. Add the cooled vegetable mixture and blend thoroughly.

Pack meat mixture into a compact round with a flattened top, slightly smaller than the cast iron cooking skillet. That way you can easily lift the loaf out of the drippings to serve. (OR you could use a standard loaf pan or several small loaf pans though the crust wouldn't be the same. Muffin tins would work for individual servings, but sandwich options would be difficult. Adjust cooking time as needed.) 

Either way, bake on a center oven rack at 375 degrees F. for 50 to 55 minutes, or until cooked through and the drippings run clear. When meat loaf is done, remove from oven and drain off the drippings. I like to return the skillet to the oven, move the rack up to the upper third and broil the meatloaf for a minute or two until the top crisps up a bit (optional).

Let stand for several minutes to firm up. Slice wedges or divide in half and slice off straight pieces from center to edge. Serve and enjoy.

                                                          

Merguez Mini Meatloaves

I am in love, again - with the shiny new KitchenAid stand mixer that now resides in my kitchen. It has already stirred biscotti and Spritz cookies, kneaded pizza dough and French baguettes, and been a counter adornment. It's time to task it and me with something new, completely new, something more challenging. Something like... homemade sausage, that's a new arena.


I am not really a big fan of sausage, or hot dogs, links, meatloaf, or anything else that relies on a mixture of smooshed up mystery ingredients and fat. Besides, sausage makes me burp and the taste plays reruns for ages. That said, one of my 2010 resolutions is to master the art of sausage making. My logic is that if I can control what's in the blend, I can improve on the taste and diminish the aftereffects.


Now my KitchenAid has company, thanks to easy ordering from Amazon.com. A yet-unused meat grinder attachment, a sausage stuffer device, Bruce Aidell's Complete Sausage Book and Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie now join the crowd of must-have gadgets and cookbooks in my kitchen. Further research is needed to track down a local source for sausage casings, but I'm working on it. And I am still reading the books and finding sausage making hints, recipes and blogs online.


Lately we have been taste-testing the ingredients for Merguez sausage, using preground lamb and Italian sausage links, with a combination of interesting spices and fresh produce. I have not strayed too far from a blend of two Aidell recipes, though the resulting Merguez patties and mini meatloaves are so tasty we might never make it to the sausage stuffing stage. 

Merguez Mini Meatloaves

Adapted from Bruce Aidells’ Complete Sausage Book and Michael Ruhlman’s Charcuterie. 

1.5 LB ground lamb

1.5 LB ground turkey or chicken thighs

     or 1.5  LB mild Italian sausage (links or loose)

1/3 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro)
2 TB chopped garlic
1/3 cup finely chopped sundried tomatoes packed in oil
2 TB olive oil from the sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 TB sweet Hungarian paprika

1 TB smoked Spanish paprika

1 TB kosher salt

1 tsp sugar

2 TB chopped fresh mint or 2 tsp dried mint

1 TB tomato paste

1 TB lemon juice

2 tsp graped lemon zest

2 tsp fennel seed, ground in spice grinder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp ground tumeric

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes

¾ cup finely chopped red bell pepper  

1  egg, beaten

Tzatziki - Cucumber and Yogurt Sauce (recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 375. Use kitchen spray to oil a pan of muffin-sized Bundt cups - you know, the ones with the cone in the middle to make a hole. No Bundt muffin pan? Substitute custard cups, large muffin tins or small ramekins - they all work.

Place the onions in a microwavable bowl, cover with water and cook just to soften. Drain, rinse with cold water to cool, and then drain again. 

Remove the casings from the sausage (if using links) and add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to blend thoroughly; don’t smoosh it heavily, just mix and mix and mix.

Fry a small, flat patty until done (no pink remaining) and taste for salt, pepper and other seasonings. Adjust as needed.

Scoop out a ½ cup or so of the mix and plop it into a prepared Bundt cup, packing lightly and leveling the top. The mix should yield six mini meatloaves, depending upon the containers and how full they are filled. Bake until you measure an internal temperature of 160 degrees, roughly 25 minutes. If the tops look too moist, briefly broil to add a crisp crust.

Remove to a heated serving plate, and serve with a side of tzatziki - cucumber and yogurt sauce.

Tzatziki

Makes 1 ¾ cups

1 English cucumber, peeled and diced into tiny chunks

1 cup Greek yogurt (plain)

2 TB lemon juice

2 TB lemon zest

1 TB fresh mint, chopped or 1 tsp dried mint

1 ½ TB fresh dill, chopped or ½ tsp dried dill

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place cucumber chunks in a strainer; add salt and toss gently. Place strainer over a bowl and let sit awhile you work on the meatloaves. You will be amazed at the quantity of liquid that drains out! Rinse the cucumbers thoroughly under cold water; drain again and wring in a clean tea towel to remove as much moisture as possible without reducing the cukes to moosh. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. The flavors will blend and intensify as they sit. The sauce will keep overnight in a covered container in the refrigerator, but will need to be used within a day or two.


We love these formed as mini loaves or as patties served with Tzatziki sauce and accompanied by sides of a Greek-style panzanella salad and lemon-roasted potatoes or lemony potato salad. A dessert of wine-poached pears with honey-flavored Greek yogurt finished the latest Merguez meal, but we ate them before I could grab a photo.

 Greek Panzanella Salad (below) and Lemony Potato Salad (above)