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–+ servings

Highfalutin Cordon Bleu Meatloaf Baked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven

An easy stack-and-bake Chicken Meatloaf Recipe with ham and cheese deep in the layers of the meatloaf.
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Course Main Course
Cuisine French
Servings 6

Equipment

  • 10" Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven - a 12" Dutch would work. Expect a much thinner meatloaf.
  • 8" Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven - a cast iron skillet would work as well.
  • Wooden Spatula
  • Metal Spatula
  • Larger Bowl - for the meatloaf ingredients.
  • Smaller Bowl - for the gravy ingredients.
  • Rubber Spatula

Ingredients
  

Meatloaf Ingredients

  • 2 Pounds Ground Chicken
  • 2 tsp Minced Onion or 1 teaspoon of onion powder. - or 1 teaspoon of onion powder.
  • 1-2 tsp Minced Garlic - ½-1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • ¼ - ½ Cup Chopped Parsley - or a Tablespoon or two of dried parsley
  • 1 Egg
  • ¼ Cup Plain Breadcrumbs - or Panko Crumbs
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Pepper
  • ¼ Cup Mayonnaise

Beer Gravy Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Easy-Drinking Lager - or Chicken Broth
  • ¼ Cup Heavy Cream - or Half and Half
  • 1 TBL Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 TBL Dijon Mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Roux

  • 3 TBL Butter
  • 3 TBL Flour

Other Ingredients

  • ½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • ¾ -1 Cup Panko Crumb Topping - or Plain Bread Crumbs

Instructions
 

  • Chop and Prepare the Parsley
  • In a larger bowl, add all of the Meatloaf Ingredients - Separate the mixture into two equal parts.
  • In a smaller bowl, mix all of the Beer Gravy Ingredients - Do not add the Roux or the Other Ingredients yet.
  • Using some soft butter, coat the inside cast iron Dutch oven.
  • Add ½ of the meatloaf mixture to the bottom of the cast iron Dutch oven.
  • Start with the ham. Add a layer of thin-sliced ham to the top of the meatloaf mixture.
  • Cover the ham with slices of Swiss Cheese
  • Apply the 2nd layer of the meatloaf mixture and put the lid on the Dutch Oven.
  • Set 30-35 briquettes to fire. Let them get cook-ready.
  • Place 6 or 7 briquettes under the Dutch and 13-14 on the lid. Let this bake for 15 minutes. While the meatloaf bakes during this first 15-minutes, start working on the gravy.
  • Set the gravy pot over some heat and heat up very hot.
  • Add 3 Tablespoons of butter to that hot gravy pot. Once the butter is fry-ready and hot, add the flour and create a blond or white roux.
  • Add the pre-mixed gravy ingredients to the white roux and blend in well. Let it thicken up. Check on it periodically to make sure it is not scorching.
  • Back to our chicken meat loaf and the larger Dutch Oven. - After 15-minutes, turn the pot. Turn the lid in one direction 1/3rd of a turn and then the whole pot 1/3rd of a turn in the other direction.
  • Once the meatloaf has baked for another 15 minutes (30-minutes total), remove the lid and give it a peek. Does it look baked and ready? It needs to be cooked to a temperature of 165℉ / 75℃
  • Once the gravy has thickened up, add the 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Reduce the heat by "a lot" or just remove from the heat. Just let it simmer.
  • Once the meatloaf has baked for 30 minutes, remove all the heat from the bottom of the pot. Add the ¾ - 1 cup of Panko Crumbs to the top of the meatloaf.
  • Add as much heat as you would like (or that you have available) to the lid of that Dutch Oven. Let the Panko Crumbs get all toasty.
  • Once the meal reaches 165°F / 75°C and the Panko Crumbs are nice and toasty, pull the heat from the Dutch oven and...LET’S EAT!!

Notes

There are two ways to serve this meal:
  1. Add all or some of the gravy to the top of the meat loaf and then serve from the pot.
  2. Serve from the pot and add the gravy on the plate.
It’s up to you.
I prefer using wooden utensils with my cast iron. My suggestion is to use a thin wooden spatula or even use a metal spatula to serve this meal. The ham is what’s needing this attention to detail. Thicker slices of ham may not “cut” as easily with a thicker utensil. If the ham does not cut with the meat loaf, you’ll pull extra pieces of ham from the middle of someone else’s serving. Think of biting a chicken sandwich with a tough piece of chicken in that sandwich. Yep. It’ll pull right out of there.
Chef Tip: Let the meatloaf rest a bit before serving. It’ll let everything “settle down” and it’ll come out better on the plate. And, much of that liquid will either steam off or re-incorporate into the meal.
Keyword baked chicken, beer mac and cheese, casserole, cordon bleu, ground chicken, hamburger, meatloaf
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