From The Farm Wife, Recipes

Fancy Meatloaf

Posted on by Mary Pat

I adapted this recipe from a woman I met named Teri Ciani at High Prairie Lodge and Outfitters. She is an absolutely amazing cook.

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 2 Tb Olive Oil
  • 2 Tb Butter
  • 1 Large Sweet Onion, coarsely chopped
  • 3.5 oz Baby Bellas or Button Mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
  • 5 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 2 cups coarsely ground fresh breadcrumbs (I also use pre-made breadcrumbs and it works well. If you’re using pre-made breadcrumbs, use a little less… more like 1.5 cups)
  • 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (I’ve used ground before and it works)
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 2 Tb chopped fresh Thyme
  • 1 Tb Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 lb bacon (ish just enough to cover the top of the meatloaf)
  • 2 Tb light brown sugar
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Steps:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onion and plenty of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often until the onion softens.
  3. Add the garlic, cook for about 30 seconds and then add the mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms lose their moisture. Pour the onion/mushroom/garlic mixture on a plate to cool.
  4. In a bowl, combine the milk and breadcrumbs; stir with a fork.
  5. In another bowl, combine the beef, pork, nutmeg, allspice, thyme, Worcestershire, eggs, cooled mushroom mixture, breadcrumbs, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Using your hands, mix quickly but thoroughly.
  6. Spray a 9 x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and form it into a squared off log, 6″ wide and about 10″ long.
  7. Lay bacon sliecs across the top of the meatlof. It’s okay if they hang down into the pan becuase they will shrink up with baking. Sprinkle the top of the bacon with brown sugar.
  8. Bake the meatloaf for 50-55 minutes, or until the interior temperature registers 160 degrees. Rest for 5 minutes. Cut into thick slices

Note: don’t overcook the meatloaf because the bacon doesn’t look done. If you need to crisp up the bacon, turn on your broiler and watch closely just enough to crisp it. I highly recommend using a meat thermometer so you don’t dry it out.

Mary Pat