Bacon Lattice Wrapped Meatloaf
Visually arresting with the added smokey flavor of bacon, this is the King of Meatloaf on Kitchen Tapestry.
This recipe has less of a tomato profile than other meatloaf recipes on Kitchen Tapestry and is a variation on a recipe for bacon-wrapped meatloaf found on the Whitney Bond website. It pairs well with the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Brown Gravy which is included below.
The original recipe recommended that you not use thick-cut bacon and I agree. In fact, because I was using an 80/20 beef mix (meat to fat ratio), I actually used center-cut bacon, which is a leaner cut than traditional American bacon. The original author of the recipe also gave some good advice on how best to apply the lattice bacon wrap to the meat loaf, which I followed and have documented below.
Montreal Steak Seasoning
The original recipe calls for the addition of Montreal Steak Seasoning. I always thought that this was a proprietary blend of seasonings sold by McCormick under the "Grill Mates" label, but I was wrong. It's a customary blend of seasonings that include garlic, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dill seed and salt, introduced to the Montreal deli and steakhouse markets in the 1940s and '50s. You can find recipes for the proportions on the Internet, but I used the store-bought blend in this case. It does add a distinct flavor profile to the dish and is certainly recommended.
Wrapping in Bacon - Step One
The technique for getting the bacon lattice in place is very easy if you know a few tricks. While this is explained in the recipe, pictures will help.
The first step is to lay out 12 slices of center cut bacon on a cutting board in the manner you see here: 6 horizontal strips and 6 vertical strips in an alternating overlapping pattern. If a bacon piece is too long, or not long enough, you can cut down rashers of bacon accordingly. Since center cut bacon rashers tend to be shorter than traditional, I find I need a couple of extra slices to fill out the lattice work.
Wrapping in Bacon - Step Two
After you have mixed the ingredients for the meatloaf together and formed into a loaf, lay it in the center of the bacon lattice work on top of the cutting board. Center it carefully so you have even amount of bacon all around.
Wrapping in Bacon - Step Three
I recommend a broiling pan as the best surface on which to cook a meatloaf. It allows grease to drain away, and you’ll need that with nearly a pound of bacon.
Put the broiler pan on top of the meatloaf upside down. Then, turn the whole affair over, cutting board and all. When you remove the cutting board your meatloaf will be sitting on the broiler pan, and now, it’s a simple matter just to tuck the bacon lattice in all around the sides so that the exposed surfaces of your meatloaf are now covered by the bacon lattice.
Bacon Lattice Wrapped Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
- 12 slices center-cut bacon (like, Oscar Mayer Center Cut)
- 1/2 medium yellow or sweet onion, finely diced (like, Texas-1015 or Vidalia)
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (like, Progresso)
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning (like, McCormick Grill Mates)
- 1 tbsp ground dried thyme
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire flavored black pepper (like, McCormick)
- 1 tsp smoked salt (like, San Francisco Salt Company, Cherry Wood)
- non-stick cooking spray (like, Pam)
- Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Brown Gravy
Instructions
- Sauté the onion and peppers in a skillet with the olive oil over medium high heat for 8 -10 minutes until the onions begin to pick up some caramelization.
- Add the garlic and sauté a moment more. Remove the skillet from the stove and allow to cool.
- Crumble the ground beef into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sautéed vegetables, balsamic vinegar, ketchup, Montreal Steak Seasonings, thyme, Worcestershire Sauce, the smoked salt and flavored pepper.
- Add the eggs next and the bread crumbs last. If you spread out the ingredients in layers over the whole surface of the mixture as you go along, as opposed to just dumping the ingredients in the bowl, it will make for quicker, easier mixing.
- Using wet hands, mix the ingredients in as few motions as are needed to get everything blended well. The more you work the meat, the more likely it will be to fall apart while cooking.
- In the meantime, lay out the slices of bacon in a crisscross lattice fashion on a cutting board.
- Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape directly on top of the lattice of bacon.
- Treat a broiling pan with non-stick cooking spray. Put the rack of the broiler pan upside down over the top of the meatloaf and then simultaneously flip over both the cutting board and broiler pan rack.
- Carefully pull the cutting board away and your meatloaf is now right side up on the broiler pan rack.
- Finish wrapping the bacon lattice around the sides of the meatloaf, and tuck in the ends of the bacon under the loaf.
- Cover with cling wrap and put the meatloaf in the fridge for an hour or more to firm up, but take it out of the fridge thirty minutes before you're ready to begin cooking.
- In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the top 1/3 of the oven.
- Cook the meatloaf for 1 to 1-1/4 hours and until the bacon is crispy.
- Allow the loaf to sit for ten minutes before slicing and serve with the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Brown Gravy on the side.
Brown Gravy
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef stock (like, Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- 1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce (like, Kikkoman Less Sodium)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp powdered English mustard (like, Coleman's)
- 1 heaping tbsp beef base (like, Better Than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 7-8 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/8 tsp seasoned salt (like, Lawry's)
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then blend in the flour with a whisk to make a roux. Stir constantly for five minutes until the roux begins to turn light brown.
- Slowly whisk in the beef stock, stirring constantly until the roux is well blended into the stock and the stock begins to thicken.
- Add the Kitchen Bouquet, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Stir periodically to keep the gravy from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the beef base and keep stirring until it has dissolved and incorporated into the sauce.
- Bring to a very light simmer and continue stirring until the gravy thickens to evenly coat the back of a spoon.
- Add the cream and whisk the gravy until it returns to a simmer. Make a final check for seasoning and serve immediately.