When you think of Meatloaf..you think of Comfort.  Wrap it in Bacon…you think WHAT???  That is exactly what I thought the first time I saw the image of Ree Drummond’s Favorite Meatloaf Recipe from her show Pioneer Woman on The Food Network.

Now don’t get me wrong..I really like bacon but not like the rest of my family does!  They always agree that anything with bacon is always better so I thought I should give this recipe a try!

The first concern I had with this recipe was that it was missing vegetables like onions and celery.  Well, that was easy to fix!  I just sauteed a cup and added it to the recipe…That turned out to be a great “tweak”!

Ingredients

Meatloaf:

• 1 cup Whole Milk
• 6 slices White Bread
• 1 cup of sauteed vegetables such as chopped onions and celery (optional…my addition)
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
• 3/4 teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/3 cup Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
• 4 whole Eggs, Beaten
• 10 slices Thin/regular Bacon

Sauce:

• 1-1/2 cup Ketchup
• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• Tabasco To Taste (Lots for me, thank you!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes. (Note:  Make sure that when you add the bread to the rest of the meatloaf mixture, you wring the milk out.  This was not included in the written directions but she did this on the actual show.)

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread (crumbled), Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together.

Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. (Note:  Mine hadn’t quite reached the suggested temperature of 160 degrees (test in the middle of meatloaf) so I baked mine about 15 minutes longer.  I highly suggest you use a digital thermometer to determine doneness.) Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Bottom Line: 

This was a solid hit for my husband, Jeff!  He devoured it!  As for me, I think I would prefer leaving the bacon off because I think it took away from the crispness of the top of the meatloaf.  The sauce was simply to die for and I wish I would have made extra to use for the leftovers.

I definitely think the addition of the onions and celery was needed for the flavor and next time I will probably add some green pepper, too!  This is a great recipe and I look forward to hearing how it turns out in your kitchen.  My name is Frankie Pitt and I am your personal recipe tester!  Enjoy and “Keep on Cooking”!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/09/my-favorite-meatloaf/