My coauthor, Anne-marie Ramo, admits that she was never a big fan of meat loaf until she met her husband, who loves it. In the quest for marital bliss, she set to work on a recipe she could love. Known for her killer barbecued meats, she found a way to sneak in barbecue flavor, and added a handful of chopped bacon to the mix as well. The resulting recipe made her a convert, and her husband is happy to report it’s the best he’s ever tasted. Anne-marie uses her own homemade barbecue sauce, but you can use any sauce you like, homemade or bottled. In the summertime, you can grill roast this dish outside; see Cook’s Notes.

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup chili sauce (Heinz)
• ½ cup Easy Barbecue Sauce or store-bought barbecue sauce
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs (made from rustic bread)
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons melted bacon fat or olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onions
• ½ cup finely chopped peeled carrots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or ½ teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
• 1½ pounds ground beef (80% lean), home-ground or store-bought
• ½ pound lean ground veal or turkey ¼ pound bacon, finely chopped 2 large eggs
• lightly beaten 1½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8½-×-4½-inch glass loaf pan.
2. Combine chili sauce and barbecue sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Place bread crumbs in a small bowl and add buttermilk. Set aside.
4. Heat bacon fat in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots, cover, and cook until vegetables soften (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
5. Squeeze buttermilk from bread and add bread, ½ cup of barbecue sauce mixture, cheese, parsley, sage, thyme, beef, veal, bacon, eggs, salt, and pepper to the onion mixture. Using your hands, knead and squeeze the mixture until well blended, but don’t overmix.
6. Pack the meat mixture into the loaf pan. Gently knock the pan a few times on the work surface to remove air bubbles and pack the meat down, then mound the top of the loaf. Bake for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 130°F to 135°F. Brush a generous amount of the remaining barbecue sauce mixture over the top and bake for 10 minutes more. Brush one more time with the remaining barbecue sauce mixture and bake for 10 minutes more, or until the internal temperature reaches 150°F.
7. Let the meat loaf rest for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan, slice into ¼-inch thick slices, and serve.

ALTERNATIVE CUTS

• Ground bison or grass-fed beef; use an additional ¼ pound bacon, finely chopped.

COOK’S NOTES

• If you use a metal loaf pan instead of glass, the meat loaf may take 10 to 15 minutes longer to reach 150°F.
• You can also form the mixture into a free-form log shape (about 10 × 4 × 4 inches) on a baking sheet.
• If you like, lay some bacon strips in a crisscross pattern over the top of the loaf before popping it into the oven.
• To grill-roast, set up a gas grill for indirect heat, then bring it to 350°F. Cover a metal pan with aluminum foil, place on the side of the grill with no fire, and cook for 1 hour, monitoring the temperature of the grill to maintain a constant 350°F. Remove the foil and finish the cooking, following the directions above for basting with barbecue sauce.

LEFTOVERS

• For a great meat loaf sandwich, combine mayonnaise with some barbecue sauce and slather it onto toasted whole-grain bread, top with the meat loaf, and serve with slices of dill pickle.
• Also see The Ultimate Meat Loaf Sandwich.