Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf (aka Meat and More Meat)

After receiving an email about he Meat Contest, I decided to write up this instructable. After all, what could possibly be meatier than meat wrapped up in more meat? This is a literal joining of two noble beasts -- hearty flavorful beef and succulent pork, all prettily packaged in glazed basketweave bacon. I also love to bake, and the lattice top pie crusts were the inspiration for the wrapping design.

The best part? It is easy to make, easy to transport, easy to reheat, and tastes good hot, cold, or as leftovers. Make use of the delicious drippings and toss some brussels sprouts, potatoes, squash, or root vegetables and roast them along with the meatloaf for an instant side dish.

Ingredients list - Meat Loaf

4-6 slices thick cut bacon, cut into thin slivers
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small carrot, chopped
2 lbs meat loaf meat: approx 1 part ground beef, 1 part ground veal, 1 part ground pork
1 1/3 cups breadcrumbs
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 large eggs
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp honey mustard
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup yogurt

Wrapping: about 12 slices of thin-sliced bacon

Directions

4-6 slices thick cut bacon, cut into thin slivers

Saute the bacon in a pan until cooked, but not crispy, stirring occasionally. Set aside but reserve bacon fat for next step.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small carrot, chopped

Saute onions, garlic, and carrot in bacon fat until soft, about 5-10 min.

2 lbs meat loaf meat: approx 1 part ground beef, 1 part ground veal, 1 part ground pork
1 1/3 cups breadcrumbs
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Mix ground meat, breadcrumbs, parsley, and cranberries in a large bowl until combined. Add cooked onions, garlic, carrot, and bacon and combine.

2 large eggs
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp honey mustard
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup yogurt

Whisk eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worchestershire sauce, and yogurt in a bowl. Add to meat mixture and combine with a fork until evenly blended. (Meat mixture should not stick to bowl.)

Shape the meatloaf into a rectangle (mine is approx 8-9 inches long x 6 inches wide x 3 inches tall). Arrange half the bacon slices in a parallel fashion diagonally across the meatloaf. You can also arrange it horizontally/vertically for a more traditional lattice look, but I thought the chevron like pattern was more fun to make.

Starting with the first slice, fold back every other slice so that enough bare meatloaf shows to accomodate 1 slice of bacon. Place a slice of bacon perpendicular to the ones you've already arranged, and fold back the bacon over the strip you just placed.

Now fold back all the alternate slices of bacon (slices 2, 4, 6) and place a slice of bacon perpendicularly to that. Unfold the bacon. Repeat on until the meatloaf is covered with the bacon lattice. Tuck in the loose ends. You don't have to wrap the entire meatloaf, just the top and sides. Nobody will see the bottom.

Alternatively, you could also wrap at a very oblique angle to get more of a fishbone like effect. See above picture. Anyway you wrap it, it still tastes just as good. :)

Sometimes I forget to add ingredients and have to go back. Once, I think I forgot to add breadcrumbs, cranberries, and salt; when I remembered to, I only remembered 1 ingredient at a time, so I would add it, reshape the loaf, and then realize after reshaping that I had yet another ingredient to add! Fortunately the lattice top is very forgiving. Simply turn your meatloaf over, supportoing the bacon weave, unwrap it on a flat surface, add whatever it is you need to, reshape your loaf, and put it back on top of the already-woven bacon. Wrap up the loaf again, turn it over, and voila! as if nothing happened.

Here is a picture of the lattice on a flat surface after I had turned it over and removed the meat.

Ingredients - Glaze

1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Set loaf on a roasting pan or baking sheet lined with foil. Mix ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Using a pastry brush, brush glaze over bacon-wrapped meatloaf.

If desired, you can roast vegetables along with the meatloaf. Most vegetables roast for 45 min or so. Good vegetables for roasting include brussel sprouts, carrots, butternut squash, potatoes. Drizzle with some olive oil and toss with salt and pepper and herbs if desired. Bake until meat loaf registers 160F intermally, about 1 hour 20 min. You can add the vegetables about 30-40 minutes into the roasting process.

Serve with ketchup if desired, but this meatloaf can certainly hold its own! Enjoy. :)