Originally published on July 25, 2014
I love meatloaf. I mean, I love love love meatloaf. I don’t even know why I love it so much, really. Maybe it’s because I grew up on it and my grandma knew her way around a good meatloaf. Maybe it’s because you can do so much with it, and still keep true to the basic foundations of the dish. Maybe it’s because every time I make it, I think about that old King of Queens episode where Carrie says, “The one good thing about being married to Doug is that you get real good at shaping meat into a big pile.” Truthfully, I think there’s just somuch to love about it, I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t. Especially when you add bacon and gravy not just on the side, but inside the actual loaf itself.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, diced and divided
3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 cup bread crumbs
4 cups gravy, divided (I used leftover gravy from the brisket I had made the night before, but you can make your own or use packaged)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 Portobello mushroom, diced
2 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly oil a loaf pan.
2.) Place one tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add chopped bacon and cook until all pieces are brown and crisp. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel and set aside. Reserve bacon fat in the skillet.
3.) Place bread crumbs in a small bowl and pour 1 cup of gravy over top. Stir to combine and let sit.
4.) In a large bowl combine the ground beef, half of the diced onion, garlic, egg, balsamic vinegar, thyme, rosemary, a pinch of salt and pepper, and half of the cooked bacon. Add the gravy-soaked bread crumbs. Mix to thoroughly combine all ingredients, then shape into a loaf and place in the prepared loaf pan. Brush evenly over the top one tablespoon of vegetable oil.
5.) Place meatloaf in the preheated oven and cook for 60 – 70 minutes, until loaf has completely cooked through. Then, remove from oven and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. This will help keep your meatloaf from falling apart when you move it out of the pan to slice it.
6.) While loaf is resting, prepare the gravy. Heat the bacon fat still in the skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the other half of the diced onion along with the Portobello mushroom. Stir to coat everything in the fat and then let cook for 5 – 10 minutes, until mushrooms have just started to brown and onion is soft. Then add the remaining 3 cups of gravy and and the remaining bacon pieces and stir. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, so that all the flavours can marry, and the gravy can heat through.
7.) After meatloaf has rested, slice into 1″ slices and pour a little bit of the gravy over top. Serve the remaining gravy on the side at the table.
8.) Serve and enjoy!