Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with Gravy

Here's another ultimate comfort food: Meatloaf! This is my Mom's recipe and I just modified it over the years. We usually eat this with Macaroni Salad with Celery and Pineapple (that's another recipe altogether; another blogpost.)

This is just everyday, comfort food for us, but I sometimes serve this at parties, and it's always a hit. My guests really love the moist, flavourful meat and the gravy that comes with it. I think it has something to do with the mix of beef, pork, Vienna sausage and chopped bacon in the mix itself. And of course, there's that glorious bacon wrapped around it.

BACON WRAPPED MEATLOAF WITH GRAVY

Meatloaf:
500 grams ground beef
500 grams ground pork
230 grams Vienna sausage, mashed or cut into thin "coins"
200 grams bacon, chopped into 1 cm pieces
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk for the meat mix
2 medium sized carrots, minced
1 large onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Bacon rashers, for wrapping the meatloaf

Gravy:
Salt and pepper to taste, for the gravy
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Procedure:
1.  Mix together all the ingredients, except the bacon rashers, in a large bowl. Make sure it is evenly integrated.

2. Prepare 2 baking pans. Brush with oil, then line with the bacon. Overlap the strips a bit as they will shrink after baking.

Tip 1: I usually use a silicone pan for ease of removal, but a metal pan that is properly oiled will work too. The bacon's fat will also prevent it from sticking.

Tip 2: Pick bacon rashers that are evenly shaped and long vs. wide so that you can flip their ends on top of the loaf. (I would have wanted my bacon to be longer than these, frankly.)

3.  Put the meat mix into the pan, on top of the bacon strips.

4.  Fill the loaf almost to the brim, then flip the ends of the bacon on top. Use a fork to pat the ends onto the meat mix.

5.  Bake the meatloaves in a preheated oven at 350F, covered with foil, for about 30 to 45 minutes, until firm. You'll also see that the meatloaf will shrink a bit and pull away from the pan's edges and some liquid from the mix will form and this will be boiling in the pan, indicating that the meat is cooked.

6.  Remove the foil covering the pan and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more until a bit brown.

7. Make the gravy: Once the meatloaf is a bit cool, drain the liquid from the pan by holding one corner of the pan (use a pot holder!), and with the other hand, use a spoon to keep the meatloaf in the pan while you drain the liquid into a pot. You may keep the meatloaf in the oven in low heat while waiting to serve.

For the gravy, heat the pot and add the milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Once the mix is simmering, add the dissolved cornstarch and whisk briskly until the sauce thickens. 

To serve, flip over the meatloaf on a plate. Serve with very hot gravy, either as a side or drizzle on top of the meatloaf itself.