Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
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A little over a week ago my Feb/March issue of Fine Cooking magazine arrived. Cover pictures need to catch your attention and boy did they ever manage that with this one. A picture of bacon wrapped meatloaf graces their cover. Amazing. I mean who would ever think to do something like that? I sure never had. Have you? I immediately took a picture with my phone and sent it to the Mr, he was very approving of such an idea.
There’s more options than just bacon wrapped meatloaf though! Both in the magazine and on their website they allow you to create your own version with different meat options, vegetables, other mix-ins such as various cheeses, herbs, spices and liquids such as beer or wine. It’s a pretty neat feature that they seem to do with a new item every so often. I knew I wanted to make a bacon wrapped meatloaf. I mean come on, after seeing the cover I couldn’t resist! But then the decision was what to add in. Even the meats didn’t have to be the standard run of the mill meatloaf variety. So much fun!
My personal variety ended up having a nice spicy kick to it, which as always can be toned down or cut out completely. And of course, it was wrapped in bacon. I practically used an entire package of bacon! Crazy but boy did the house smell incredible! Due to my fattier meat choice and the obvious greasy fatty bacon, the meatloaf sat and cooked in a hot greasy liquid. The only issue that created was carefully removing the tray from the oven and also removing the cooked meatloaf from the pan. Honestly it wasn’t that big of a deal, just remember to be careful and not have children or little furballs running around nearby when you’re dealing with this particular dish. The meatloaf turned out to be moist and spicy, very different from any other I’ve made before. It’s a definite winner.
I highly recommend making this. It’d be great for a weeks worth of lunches or a small dinner party. One meatloaf should serve 8-12 depending on the thickness of your slices.
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1/2 C yellow onion chopped
- 1/2 C bell pepper any color
- 1/2 C mushrooms
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 C seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 C milk
- 3/4 lb sausage
- 1 1/4 lb ground meat beef or beef, veal and pork mixture
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 C Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 10-12 slices bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare veggies by chopping onion, mushrooms and bell pepper. Mince garlic. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook veggies until they are tender and the onions are translucent. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. This is the bowl you'll be mixing the entire meatloaf in, so make sure it's large enough.
- Add in breadcrumbs and milk, mix well. If using sausage links, remove from casings. Add all meat and eggs to bowl. Gently mix without compacting. Sprinkle with cheese and seasonings including the optional red pepper flakes. Mix well with your hands.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking sheet. Form a 10x4-inch log, roughly.
- Starting at one end, begin laying bacon over the meatloaf log in a diagonal pattern. Overlap each piece slightly to allow for any shrinkage that may occure when the bacon cooks. Be sure to leave 1/2" overhang on all sides. After covering the entire meatloaf, carefully fold bacon underneath the edges.
- Bake on the middle rack for 50-60 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°F when inserted into the center of the meatloaf. Broil for an additional 3 minutes to crisp up the bacon. Do not leave it in the oven waiting for the bacon to look super crispy, it will be overdone when you pull it out as bacon continues to cook after being removed from the oven.
- Cool slightly. Using two large spatulas (I used grilling spatulas because they're so much bigger than the traditional kitchen variety), carefully transfer to a second parchment lined baking sheet or serving platter to cool for at least 10 minutes. Cut into 1/2 - 1" pieces with a serrated knife.
I’m thinking a man came up with this recipe. They love to wrap things in bacon. Not that it’s a bad idea. It’s a great idea! And it looks delicious. But a man was certainly the first to say, “I will wrap a meatloaf with bacon”.
BTW, I am totally impressed with your bacon wrapping skills. It looks so pretty!
It looks so pretty! I was watching some show with my BF the other day where they were wrapping something in bacon and he was like OH MAN THAT’S AWESOME!! So I’m going to have to give this a try and score some “best girlfriend ever” points!
You’ve done such a gorgeous job wrapping it! It looks so perfect, like a pattern. And it sounds utterly delicious!
Brava! This looks so, so good. Beautiful photography too. Thanks for the shout out and for sending us the link.
Wow! That first picture looks amazing. For those who don’t care about health, now that is something to try! Looks delicious!
I wouldn’t go as far as saying ‘for those that don’t care about health’ it’s an indulgence item for sure. Just don’t eat it every day or every week even and you’ll be fine. :)
I am not a big meatloaf fan but boy this could change my mind. I’ve been on the verge of subscribing to FC for about a month now ~ can I assume you would recommend it? :)
I’ve only been getting the magazines for a short while but definitely would recommend it.
Majestic bacon awesomeness! OMG-can you tell I love this!
Hubby is NOT a fan of meatloaf, but I’m pretty sure he’d eat anything wrapped in bacon. I’ll have to give this a shot!
That looks fantastic! I love how you wrapped it on the diagonal.
Oh my God, I think if I ate this I’d have thought I died and went to heaven. It looks spectacular! The hot sausage must have been a great touch, too.
That is art!
I know a man in my life who would love this.
wow I think I know a man too (as well as my 3 kids) who would love this too
Oh yum! Growing up, my mom used to make something like this. Looks delicious – like a tasty, bacon-y football.
I love meatloaf but with bacon is a million times better! I need to make this asap. The meatloaf is calling my name, it just looks soooo good. :)
This looks SO good!! Then again bacon makes everything better! :)
That looks stunning, my friend also, made a bacon wrapped meatloaf for his recipe, on my blog, but he decided to weave the bacon together! I thought it was an awesome idea!
Great recipe! Delicious! However, you list eggs in the ingredient list, but don’t mention where to put them in when you list the instructions. I threw them in when I added the milk and breadcrumbs. Am I overlooking the step, or is it missing?
Oops! Thanks for noticing the slip up. Putting the eggs in where you did or with the meat in the following step will work fine. I hope it turns out for you! :)
DEEELICIOUS!!! Just txt my husband the menu for this evening!! He’s stoked about the meaty goodness we’ll be mowing over! Heavenly! Thanks for the receipe!! :-P
Heres a beefy twist. Pretty much followed the recipe again but used Beef Bacon(yes it exists at least in AB). Way less fat though… maybe because I used ground beef and turkey. AB beef bacon. Absolutely great for wrapping everything from this recipe to scallops.
love this recipe!Just wondering, is there a specific reason why there is no sauce either on the meat (under bacon) or over bacon while cooking?
It was mostly personal preference, though this particular one was plenty juicy without a sauce.
My family loves this!! I’m on a low carb high protein diet so i changed the recipe a little and still just great !!
Glad to hear that you’ve enjoyed it!
I have the bacon that you cook in the microwave but it only takes seconds to cook im assuming that won’t work with the meatloaf or am i wrong thank you
I’m not sure what the difference is between microwavable bacon and traditional or if it’s even significant… so I’m going to learn towards suggesting you use traditional bacon. This way the effort you’ll put into making the meatloaf isn’t ruined by the bacon. :)
My god this looks delicious! I have been looking to make a meatloaf, and I’ve been searching for a decent recipe and I think I may have just found it! I can’t wait to try it!
You might try it with the bacon weave. For the real bacon lovers out there.
I’m not sure how I stumbled upon this but thankfully I did. It’s amazing!!!
Glad to hear it! :)
Can you please publish recipes with metric units for people who are not in the US?
Thanks!
There are free online conversion calculators that would allow you to calculate the measurements as needed.
First time I have ever made Meatloaf, not such a common dish in the UK….but this recipe was amazing!! I used smoked bacon, and it was delicious!! Boyfriend had seconds, and can’t wait to try in sandwiches tomorrow!! Loved it :)
So glad you enjoyed it! :)