Bacon Wrapped Lasagna

Yesterday I had some time to settle in and cook a bit, so I decided to do a batch of my freezer lasagna (basically make 5-6 large pans of lasagna at one time and then always have a few to throw down). While I was working on the sauce, I got inspired to try wrapping one in bacon. So I did. It turned out awesome. I will be doing this again for sure. 

The recipe was the exact same as below (note, the recipe makes 5-6 large pans) but wrapped in bacon. And I also cooked it about 30 minutes longer to ensure everything was rendered well. 




Here is when I inverted the bacon wrapped lasagna and put it on another grill pan to allow the three other sides to brown/render.

Recipe: (without the bacon wrap - makes a lot of pans)

Ingredients:
Meat Sauce:

• 3 lbs Ground Beef
• 2 lbs Hot Breakfast Sausage (Jimmy Dean) – (2) rolls
• 4 Tablespoons chopped garlic (fresh or jarred)
• 4 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes (store brand!)
• 4 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste (store brand!)
• 4 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 4 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 2 teaspoons Salt

Cheese:

• 6 cups Cottage Cheese (3 large containers)
• 4 whole eggs – beaten
• 1 cup Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese + more for toppings
• 4 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 4 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 pounds Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese for topping

Other:

• 2-3 packages (boxes) Lasagna Noodles
• 4-5 foil pans – I buy mine at Sams Club in bulk. Do not make the lasagna in your nice pans if you are freezing it or giving it away, you may never get them back 

Directions:
DO NOT Cook your noodles. No need to – and don’t buy the “oven ready” ones, save your $. It will turn out great, trust me. 

Step 1: Make the meat sauce by first cooking the beef and sausage (together in the same large pot) and then draining off the fat.

Step 2: Once the meat it browned and drained, add the tomatoes (crush with your hands when adding to the pot), tomatoe paste, garlic, herbs and salt. Stir all together and let simmer for at least an hour for the flavors to get happy.

Step 3: While the sauce is simmering, start the cheese mixture by combining the cottage cheese, eggs, 1 cup Parmesan, parsley, basil and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

Step 4: Create your assembly line. Remember that you are making 4-5 lasagnas, so spread out and enlist a helper if you can.

Step 5: Assembly! I start each pan with 1 spoonful of sauce, a layer of noodles, cheese, sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce, noodle and then finish with sauce. Top the final layer with the shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan.

Step 6: I cover with foil and then freeze – unless I’m eating it right away. The lasagna is good for 2-3 days without freezing.

Egg setup: Set your egg up for 300-350 indirect. Plate setter legs up, grid on the setter and then the lasagna on top of the grid. I’ll let the lasagna go about 1 1/2 hours foiled and then uncover and let brown for another 30-45 minutes.