Sunday, April 21, 2013

Barbecue Bacon Meatloaf



We're definitely meatloaf fans in our family, but we aren't always in the mood for the "Mom's Meatloaf" style that Hubby and I grew up on. (and that I make about 80% of the time) I've tried dozens of different recipes over the years. There have been some that I still make once in a while and some that I made once and never revisited. One of the recipes that I found (I think) in Gourmet magazine ages ago, took me half the day to prepare! No joke. I really mean half the day. My hubby loved it. So much so, that he'll still ask me to make it again, every once in a while. So far, the answer has always been a big fat N-O, but I did keep the recipe, so as the old saying goes,  never say never.



Anywhooo, I didn't feel like running to the store to get any special ingredients, so I looked in the fridge to see what I had on hand and this recipe was the result. I can definitely say that I'll be making this one again...


Barbecue Bacon Meatloaf

  • 1 Lb Meatloaf Mix (Beef, Pork and Veal)
  • 1/2 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped
  • 2 Slices White or Wheat Bread
  • 1/2 C Milk
  • 1 Lg Egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 Tbls Heinz Chili Sauce
  • 1/2 Lb Thick Cut Bacon, chopped
  • 1 Large Yellow Onion, sliced
  • 1 C Barbecue Sauce, preferably one with a mild smokiness
  • 1 Cup Beef Stock or Water
  • Kosher Salt
  • Fresh Ground Pepper


Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F

Tear the bread into large pieces and put it in a small mixing bowl with the milk. Give it a bit of a stir and let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients. (I leave the crusts on when it's a soft sandwich style bread, but you can always cut them off if you prefer)

Place the meatloaf mix in a separate bowl and add the chopped bell pepper and onion.

Add the beaten egg and the chili sauce to the bread and milk mixture and stir to combine.

Add the bread mixture to the meat, bell pepper and onion and mix (with clean hands or a fork) until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Form the mixture into a loaf or "football" shape and place it in a loaf pan or baking dish.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the center, comes out clean and the juices run clear. (It could be more or less time based on your oven)


While the meatloaf is cooking, prepare the barbecue sauce and bacon topping:

In a medium skillet, fry the chopped bacon over medium to medium high heat. Watch it closely once it begins to crisp up. Even the thicker sliced bacon can go from nice and crispy to charred shoe leather, in the blink of an eye. If anything, take it off the heat when it still seems slightly under-done. It will continue to cook, even after you've removed it from the heat source, because that bacon grease is H.O.T.

Remove the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate or bowl with a slotted spoon and set it aside.


Remove all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan and add the sliced onions. Season them with a little salt and pepper and saute them over medium-high heat, stirring often, until they're softened and have a little color around the edges.


When the onions are browned, add the barbecue sauce and about 2/3 of the beef stock or water (to start) and stir to combine. Cook this mixture over medium heat until it's slightly thickened. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a bit more of the stock or water to thin it out. You want the sauce to be somewhat thick, yet still thin enough to be spooned over the meatloaf.


About 10 minutes before it's finished cooking, remove the meatloaf from the oven. Using a large spatula, lift it out of the baking dish/loaf pan and place it a foil lined baking sheet, with at least a one inch lip around the edge. A flat, rimless cookie sheet could allow for run-off from the meat juices and sauce and result in a serious mess in your oven. Hmmmm... Barbecue sauce baked solidly on to your oven floor? Yeah... in the immortal words of Youtube "celebrity" Sweet Brown, "Ain't nobody got time for that".

Spoon half of the sauce over the meatloaf, then add the bacon and finish with the other half of the sauce. Place it back in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes longer, to "set" the sauce.

When it's done, remove it from the oven, cover it loosely with a little foil and let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

I served mine with Sour Cream and Garlic Mashed Potatoes (below), but you could serve it with baked or oven roasted potatoes or hot buttered rice. If you happen to be watching your carb intake, you could just add some fresh steamed veggies or a tossed green salad.

Sour Cream and Garlic Mashed Potatoes


Rinse and cut potatoes into quarters (or smaller if they're larger than the others). Place them in a  large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of potatoes. Turn the heat to medium high, partially cover the pot and bring them to a boil.
Once the water has come to a boil, add in 4 or 5 cloves of fresh garlic, cut into similar sized pieces. Continue to cook until potatoes (and garlic) are fork tender. The garlic will be very mild and almost a little sweet when it's cooked like this and will basically dissolve and blend right in when you mash the potatoes.
Drain the potatoes, return them to the pan and add 1/2 stick of butter and 1/2 to 1 full cup of sour cream, depending on how many pounds of potatoes you have. (figure about 1/2 cup for every 2 pounds)
Mash the potatoes, garlic, butter and sour cream until they're the consistency that you like.  If they're a bit too thick, you can add a little milk. Season well with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!

~Mary

I'm sharing this at:

Weekend Potluck at The Country Cook

8 comments:

  1. This looks fantastic! I think I'll try this later in the week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh...so that lady is from YouTube??! I have seen a few of those fun little things going around with "Ain't nobody got time for that!" on them, but I didn't know where that came from exactly. Now that I know the lady's name, I'm going to look it up! Thanks!

    Girl, you and this cooking!!!!! Get on ALL the way down with your bad self!!! I don't know that I would want to invest so much time in the meatloaf (although once in awhile wouldn't kill me), but those mashed potatoes....I'm all over that! We love meatloaf around here, and good mashed potatoes are always the perfect side. I've never tried boiling the garlic along with the potatoes, so that's what I'll do next time. I don't think I've ever put sour cream in mashed potatoes, either, so I'll give that a try, too. The plate of food looks fantastic, and I can only imagine how it must taste!!!!!!! I'm just worried about how the taste & texture might be altered using ground turkey and lower sodium bacon. The Mr. and I are old...we gotta watch ourselves! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL Thanks, Alycia! I think ground turkey and low sodium bacon would be perfectly fine, especially if you've used them in other dishes that you like. The texture might be slightly different with turkey meat, but if the mix is a bit loose you can always add some dry/toasted bread crumbs. Cooking the garlic with the potatoes will give them a milder garlic flavor than say, adding roasted garlic after the fact, but it's really quick and just as delish! And potatoes with sour cream are da bomb! They just naturally go together.

      You are definitely NOT old, girl! We 50+ folks still get down with our bad selves... We're just a little more wise about how we do it. Kinda like "gettin' down with our more cautious selves"! LOL Hope you had a great weekend!

      Delete
  3. Oh, my word - temptress!!! Meatloaf, the ultimate comfort food, with bacon AND barbecue sauce??? Sigh .... Inspired and brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL That's too funny, Mary! I don't know about the brilliant part, but is it wierd that I kinda like being called a temptress? {hee hee}

      Delete

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