Reader Recipe! #92 Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

This meatloaf recipe was sent to me by my friend Randy.  I was told it is the best meatloaf ever!  I love a good meatloaf and the fact that this is basically encased with bacon and baked with a glorious glaze made it a winner before I had even tasted it!  I had to make a few adjustments simply because I didn't plan accordingly but the results were still wonderful.  I'm sure if you follow the recipe as Randy provided it, your results will be even better than mine!

If you have a recipe that you love, or that you think I would love please send it me.  I would love to give it a try and feature a delicious dish!
P.S. I apologize for the photos.  It gets dark so early now and it is hard to get nice photos with indoor lighting.

Bacon-Wrapped Meat Loaf
Recipe Source: Reader Recipe from my friend Randy

printable version

**Cook's Note-Randy tells me this recipe is good with all beef.  I increased the amount of meat using half ground pork(1 1/2 pounds) and half beef (1 1/2 pounds) in order to make a freezer meal.  I am sure any combination of proteins will work fine. To cut costs, I used half a package of bacon which was plenty for both my meat loafs.  I also had to use 1 cup of fresh bread crumbs because I forgot to buy saltines at the store.  Just increase your salt a little bit.  And last but not least I was out of parsley so that was omitted**

Glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup or chili sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons cider or white vinegar

Meat Loaf:
2 teaspoons oil
1 medium onion -- chopped medium
2 garlic cloves -- minced
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
1/2 cup whole milk or plain yogurt
2 pounds Meat Loaf Mix Of Pork, Veal, Beef
1 cup Saltine Crackers -- Crushed
1/3 cup Minced Fresh Parsley Leaves
10 slices Bacon

Directions:

For the glaze: Mix all ingredients in small saucepan; set aside.

For the meat loaf. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple tablespoons at a time until mix no longer sticks.) Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9-by- 5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan, or wrap tightly and place in the freezer, with sauce and bacon packaged on the side.

Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under.

Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160F degrees, about 1 hour. Cool at least 20 minutes. Simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until thickened slightly. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.

**The cook was able to get two large meatloaves from this recipe.  We served it with baked potatoes, and canned green beans, both of which have been on sale frequently lately.

Total Cost-$6.20 for two meatloaves (one went into the freezer)
Ketchup-Free
Vinegar-$.05
Sugar-$.08
Pork-$1.25 (manager markdown)
Beef-$2.98 ($1.99 per pound)
Onion-$.30
Garlic-$.05
Salt and Pepper-$.01
Mustard-$.015
Worcestershire-$.05
Milk-$.04
Bread Crumbs-Free
Bacon-$1.24