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Hi there. Oakley here. New to the BaconScotch family.  Nice to meet ya!

Okay. It’s not “bacon wrapped” like the other two recipes posted here before this one.  But this recipe you are not only cooking your meatloaf IN bacon, but you also have bacon INSIDE the meatloaf.

Got your attention? Great!

My recipe is adapted from Mark Peel’s “New Classic Family Dinners” cookbook.  Original portion makes too much meatloaf for my family of two so I scale it down everything…except for amount of bacon used.

Mark Peel’s Bacon Wrapped Meat Loaf for Four

•     8-10 thin-cut slices bacon to line the pan, 2 extra slices for the meatloaf.
•     1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (or if you’re lazy like me, I crumbled a few slices of day-old bread to come up to just about the same amount onto a baking sheet and set it in the oven while it preheats.)
•     1/4 cup whole milk
•     1 large egg, beaten
•     1 TBS canola oil
•     1 small onion, diced
•     2 stalks celery, diced
•     2 garlic cloves, minced
•     About 2 TBS chopped Italian parsley
•     1.5 lbs. ground pork
•     1.5 lbs. ground beef (20 percent fat)
•     Ketchup
•     8-10 sage leaves
•     Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Slice 2 bacon strips into 1/4-inch pieces and set aside. Line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with the remaining slices, alternating the fat and thing ends.

2. In a large bowl (you’ll be adding half of the meat mixture and the veggies into this), soak the bread crumbs in the milk for a few minutes, then squeeze out and discard excess milk. Beat in the egg. Set aside.

3. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, onion, celery, and garlic. Season with salt. Cook until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley. Let cool for a bit.

4. Add a little bit of the still warm mixture to the egg and breadcrumbs, tempering the egg a bit. Then add all of the veggies into the egg/breadcrumb bowl. Combine well.

5. In a large bowl, combine the meats and season with salt and pepper. Kneed to combine.

6. One handful at a time, add half of the meat to the egg-veggie mixture, and combine well. Now plop all of this back into the meat-only bowl and combine well.

7. Take up handfuls of the meat mixture and slap between your hand to expel air, then fill the loaf pan. Using a spoon, make a depression down the center of the loaf and fill that with ketchup. Garnish with sage leaves, pressing them into the top of the loaf.

8. Place the loaf pan on a baking sheet (in case of fat spill-over) and place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake about 45 minutes or (until temperature gets to 140F). Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes. Some of the juices will be absorbed back by the meat loaf.

9. Tip the remaining liquid into a bowl, then strain and skim off the fat. (In my case, there was nothing but fat. I use a little bit of that to drizzle anyway!) Slice and serve meat loaf with the juice and/or more ketchup.