Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf
We are inspired by one of our cookbooks and the weather turning chillier to make a meatloaf. Robin's grandmother always made meatloaf with all beef and would sometimes layer in strips of bell pepper for contrast and flavor. Chris is not a bell pepper lover, so instead we bake the meatloaf on top of bell pepper slices. We make the meatloaf free-form with a glaze and bacon wrapped around, to get a nice crispy, flavorful exterior. Originally served as part of: Meatloaf and other Comforting Things.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- salt & pepper
- ¼ cup tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (packed)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 slices white, home-made style bread (Pepperidge Farm)
- 2 tablespoons italian flat-leaf parsley (cleaned and chopped)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (cleaned and stemmed)
- 1 large large egg
- salt & pepper
- 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- hot sauce (Tabasco)
- ⅓ cup low-fat milk
- 1½ pounds lean ground sirloin beef
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 7 slices center-cut bacon
Instructions
We start off by chopping our onion finely, yielding ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons. We put our sauté pan on medium heat and add the oil. We add the onions and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, we mince our garlic cloves, sprinkled with a little salt. When the onions are softened, which takes about 5 minutes, we add the garlic and cook for another minute. We dump the mixture onto a plate and spread to cool. We quick chill in the fridge while we get the rest of the ingredients ready.
Next, we make the glaze. We mix the ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar in a medium bowl. We set this aside.
To make the bread crumbs, we tear the slices of bread into small pieces and add to the blender. We grind up, making about a cup of fresh bread crumbs. We only use ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons - the rest the kids eat. We mix our fresh bread crumbs with the parsley and thyme in a medium bowl.
We pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
In another medium bowl, we mix the egg with a teaspoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, a few drops of Tabasco, and milk.
In a large bowl we add the meat, reserving a small piece to make a mini-meatloaf for the kids. We add the egg mixture to the meat along with the herbed fresh bread crumbs, the cooked onions and garlic in the fridge, and then mix well with a fork until nicely blended. The mixture is nicely moistened so we do not need to add any more milk.
We turn the mixture out onto a piece of wax paper and, with wet hands, pat into a loaf 9 by 4 inches. We make a mini-meatloaf for the kids, without the filler ingredients since they are particular about onions and herbs. We wash our hands well.
We cover a wire rack with foil and prick in several places with a fork to let out the oil. We place the rack in a large sheet pan which is also lined with foil. We cut the pepper crosswise into slices, removing the ribs and seeds. We spread the slices, overlapping, onto the rack. We put the meatloaf on top, and the mini-loaf next to it on the rack. We wash our hands again. We brush both loaves with the glaze and then arrange 6 pieces of bacon on top of the large loaf, crosswise, and 1 piece of bacon on top of the mini-loaf lengthwise, tucking them under loaves.
We bake the large loaf until bacon is crisp and is cooked through, 160 degrees, about 1 hour and 10 minutes in our oven. The mini-meatloaf only takes about 40 minutes. We cool each for 10 minutes and enjoy.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic (minced with a little salt)
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar (packed)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 slices white bread (Pepperidge Farm)
- 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley (chopped)
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp salt
- black pepper
- 1½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- hot sauce (Tabasco) (a few drops)
- ⅓ cup low-fat milk
- 1½ lb lean ground sirloin
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 7 slices center-cut bacon
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Grown-up
Cook the onion in the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic for 1 minute. Spread on a plate and chill in the fridge.
Kid job
Mix the ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar for the glaze.
Grown-up
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Kid job
Tear the bread into a blender and grind into crumbs. Mix ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons with the herbs (the kids can eat the rest).
Kid job
In another bowl, mix the egg, salt, pepper, Dijon, Worcestershire, Tabasco and milk.
Grown-up
Put the meat in a large bowl, saving a small piece for a plain mini-loaf for the kids. Add the egg mixture, herbed crumbs and cooled onions and mix well with a fork. Pat into a 9-by-4-inch loaf on wax paper with wet hands, and shape the mini-loaf. Wash your hands.
Grown-up
Cover a wire rack with foil, prick holes in it, and set it in a foil-lined sheet pan. Slice the pepper crosswise into rings, seeded, and overlap them on the rack. Set the loaves on top. Brush with glaze and lay 6 bacon slices across the big loaf and 1 along the mini-loaf, tucking the ends under. Wash your hands.
Grown-up
Bake until the bacon is crisp and the center reaches 160°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes (the mini-loaf about 40 minutes). Rest 10 minutes before slicing.