Farmhouse Style Cast Iron Skillet Meatloaf
In my book, there’s nothing more comforting on a cold winter’s night than meatloaf and mashed potatoes. If that meatloaf can be prepared in a cast iron skillet, all the better. Comfort food from a cast iron skillet is just the sort of farmhouse style comfort food my family clamors for on a wintry New England day.
A cast iron skillet is perfectly suited for making meatloaf. It holds the heat well, ensuring that the meatloaf bakes evenly. The same skillet can be used to sauté the vegetables and herbs that will be incorporated into the meatloaf before being used to bake the meatloaf in the oven. Reducing the number of dishes I need to use and clean while prepping dinner is always a welcome development in my kitchen.
Once you’ve made this cast iron skillet meatloaf, you’ll be left wondering why you ever baked meatloaf in a loaf pan. My loaf pan may be feeling a bit lonely, because I’ve never made meatloaf in that pan since discovering that I could bake it so perfectly in my cast iron skillet!
If you’d like to learn more about the tools I use when making this recipe, you can find them right here:
Farmhouse Style Cast Iron Skillet Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon lard or oil
- 1 large onion , finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 16 ounces ground beef or buffalo
- 8 ounces Italian sausage , removed from the casing
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ounces mozzarella cheese , shredded
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Warm an 8-9 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the lard, swirling the pan to coat the bottom surface of the skillet. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary, stirring for one minute to prevent the garlic from burning. Remove the pan from the heat.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef or buffalo with the Italian sausage that has been removed from its casing. Add the tomato paste, sautéed onion mixture, oats, and eggs. Mix to fully combine the ingredients.
- Transfer about half of the mixture to the cast iron skillet, pressing to evenly cover the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top before covering with the remaining ground meat mixture. Press the meat mixture to the edges of the skillet. The mixture should reach the edges of the skillet and be an even thickness to ensure that it will bake evenly.
- In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Spread this mixture over the top of the ground meat. Transfer the skillet to the warm oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. When the meatloaf is finished, it will begin to pull away from the edges of the pan and register at 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.
- Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes before slicing into wedges and serving. We love to enjoy this meatloaf with Colcannon Style Mashed Potatoes. The combination of meatloaf, potatoes, and cabbage is a favorite at our farmhouse table.
Nom nom,love meatloaf, and this is up my alley with the use of cast iron
Excellent meatloaf! Moist, flavorful. The sauce on top takes it up a notch. Our recipes are almost exactly the same(a local women’s auxiliary cookbook back in the 80’s) , but with an addition of horseradish, and on the topping sauce a little dry mustard and nutmeg. I normally use a Cast-Iron Pâté Terrine(had to find some use for it), but used your skillet idea for family night. Eating less meat,and only what is humanely treated, AND staying on budget, can be difficult at times, but this is a wise choice.
I agree. We eat locally humanely raised meat which costs a bit more, but I’m happy to eat a bit less of it and stay within our budget. I’m glad that you enjoyed the recipe. I’ll have to give the horseradish a try. Thanks for the idea!
You don’t say how many servings this makes.
I find that serving size is very subjective. I would say that this size makes 6-8 main course servings. I often make a double batch in a larger skillet to ensure that we have leftovers to enjoy the next night or to make into meatloaf sandwiches.
Like minds!!! I also double the batch for meatloaf sandwiches. As a matter of fact, there is not much I make that leftovers are not enjoyed from. Some dishes seem to taste better the next day.
I absolutely agree!