Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

xiphoid007

I've been wanting to do a meatloaf on the egg. Everything is better with bacon, so I wrapped it. I was going to do a weave, but I had a little better bacon that was thicker and the weave wasn't as nice,ano I just laid slices all around the loaf, even the bottom. The recipe is below. I sprinkled the top with good old fashioned Montreal Steak Seasoning. I was gonna baste with some BBQ sauce for the last 30 min or so, but I skipped on this to see how it turned out itself as I kinda made up the recipe based on some others. Turned out great! In retrospect I would only lay the bacon overtop. That bacon was nice and crispy, where the rest was not. I went indirect at 400 to and internal temp of 160. Took about 80 min. Grilled a little asparagus direct while the meatloaf rested. Would probably do some glaze next time as it was great, but a glaze would make it better.

Meatloaf

2lbs ground beef (80/20, local butcher grassfed, ie not garbage)
2 eggs
1/4c ketchup
1/2T Dijon mustard
1/4c Parmesan cheese
3 slices whole wheat toast, crumbled
1/2t onion powder
1/4t granulated garlic
1/2t thyme
1/4t oregano
1t smoked paprika
1t kosher salt
1t ground cumin
1/2t ancho Chile powder
1t plain chili powder
1T Montreal steak seasoning
1 large carrot, grated
1 large onion, grated
1 large bell pepper, grated
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2T bacon grease (or oil, but bacon grease rocks!

Saute veggies until just brown. Add garlic and saute a few more minutes (don't burn the garlic). Kill heat and add all ingredients except meat and eggs. Beat eggs and add to meat and mix. (I like the pampered chef mix and chop for this. No better tool, my wife sells it so. . .) Add the remaining, now cooled, ingredients. Mold in a pan (foil lined loaf pan works great!) Overturn and cook. I like a pan that will let the grease run away so it doesn't sit in it. Encased in bacon, a little oil and a sprinkle more of montreal steak seasoning, and smoked at 400 until 160 internal temp.

smokesniffer

Looks great, if there are any left overs, they are awesome too. 

All the Best.