Cooking in parchment gives this “paper-bag” meatloaf recipe a crisp crust and moist interior.
Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
I’ve been cooking a lot of meat in (or on) parchment paper lately: namely chicken wings and meatloaf. I’m finding that not only is this technique neat and tidy, it does a bang-up job of creating a very crisp crust. My theory is that the paper encourages the meat to render its fat more completely, the way bacon crisps up when you cook it well, but I need to do a little more reading to confirm this. In any case, I highly recommend lining your baking sheet with the paper next time you want to produce crisp-skinned chicken thighs, wings, or breasts. Cook the meat skin-side down and you’ll be all set. Parchment paper meatloaf also yielded similar results. You’d think the meat would merely steam when wrapped in paper, coming out gray and soggy, but it turns out that cooking meatloaf on parchment paper (known as “paper-bag meatloaf” in my recipe) comes out more like this:
Cooking in parchment gives this paper-bag meatloaf recipe a crisp crust and moist interior. Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
It’s utterly delicious, with that browned crust and rich flavor. The recipe comes from our latest cookbook, Yankee’s Lost and Vintage Recipes and is a favorite of our friend, Faith Middleton of WNPR in Connecticut.
Paper-Bag Meatloaf History
This Paper-Bag Meatloaf recipe is adapted from one shared by reader Carol Learned, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. “My Grandfather, George Learned, taught me how to cook,” she wrote. “This is his recipe for meatloaf that I’ve been using for 45 years and I would imagine he used it for as many before that. He was well known in Ware, Massachusetts, for running Dale Brothers’ Laundry until he retired, and then he often cooked at church suppers. Any meatloaf recipe can be used—the secret is in the brown paper wrap.”
George did use regular brown paper bags for his meatloaf, which he buttered, but I like to make my meatloaf using parchment, because the meat doesn’t stick to it and doesn’t require the extra fat.
Paper-Bag Meatloaf Recipe
Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Paper-Bag Meatloaf Ingredients
1 ¼ pounds ground beef
¾ pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 medium-size yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium-size green pepper, finely chopped
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
1 ¾ teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Paper-Bag Meatloaf Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and use clean hands to gently toss them together until evenly mixed.
Lay a piece of parchment approximately 18×13 inches into a rimmed baking sheet, and turn the meat mixture onto the paper. Shape into a rounded loaf; then wrap completely in parchment to form a neat package, tucking the ends underneath.
Wrap completely in parchment to form a neat package, tucking the ends underneath. Photo Credit : Amy TraversoBake until the internal temperature reaches 160° to 170°, about 1 ½ hours. Photo Credit : Amy Traverso
Transfer the loaf on the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the internal temperature reaches 160° to 170°, about 1 ½ hours. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes–the crust will set during this time—then remove the parchment and serve.
Have you ever made paper-bag meatloaf or meatloaf on parchment paper? Let us know!
This post was first published in 2013 and has been updated.
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
