Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf

It is difficult to imagine that there could be another method of making meatloaf, but I ran across this recipe from Cook's Country who developed it from another recipe in their test chicken to make the “Ultimate Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf”. Like Cook's Country, I suggest using Bulls-Eye original barbeque sauce; but, of course, to each their own. This recipe has been slightly modified by me. If you have cooked bacon-wrapped turkey, you can see that it truly adds flavorful moisture.

Adding chopped bacon to the ground meatloaf meat instead of mixing ground pork with ground beef enables the bacon flavor to totally permeate the meatloaf. For bacon lovers, this is the choice. This recipe serves 6 to 8. Green Goddess Salad will go great with this recipe. I like Scalloped Potatoes or Roasted Potatoes or Baked Potato as a side dish with Asparagus for the veggie side dish. Dinner rolls also.

¼ cup barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon brown mustard

17 square saltines, crushed [2/3 cup]

4 slices coarsely chopped bacon and 8 whole slices

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup whole milk

3 large eggs

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

¾ teaspoon sea or kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper [dash of cayenne for spicy meatloaf]

1-1/2 pounds 90% lean ground beef

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set wire rack in sheet. Whisk BBQ sauce, Worcestershire, and mustard together in bowl; set aside for glaze.
2. Process saltines in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds; transfer to large bowl. Pulse chopped bacon and onion in empty processor until coarsely ground, about 10 pulses. Transfer bacon mixture to 10-inch skillet and cook over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Set aside off heat.
3. Add milk, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons glaze to saltines and mash with fork until chunky paste forms. Stir in bacon mixture until combined. Add beef and knead with hands until combined.
4. Lightly spray 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 -inch loaf pan and line it with plastic wrap and eight slices of bacon, the end of bacon hanging over the sides at least 1/2-inch. Brush the bacon with 3 tablespoons glaze. Next, press the meatloaf mix into the pan then fold the bacon strips over the loaf and top it with perforated [15 holes with skewer or knife] aluminum foil. Then turn the pan over with the foil-topped loaf onto a wire rack in a backing sheet and remove the plastic wrap. Press meatloaf into shape and then fold bacon slices over mixture.
5. Bake until bacon is browned and meatloaf registers 150°F, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and heat broiler. Brush top and sides of meatloaf with remaining 2 tablespoons glaze. Broil meatloaf until glaze begins to char and meatloaf registers 160°F, 3 to 5 minutes. Slice and serve with biscuits or dinner rolls, salad, and side dish.