Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with a Stout & Honey Glaze

A recipe guest post from my wife Kavey, who blogs at Kavey Eats.

We eat first with our eyes, so it's no surprise that I've pinned more food images to my Pinterest boards than any others. One of the recipes that caught my eye was this Guinness & Cheddar Meatloaf from The Galley Gourmet blog. Admittedly, it was the sight of bacon-wrapped meat that drew my eye, but I also liked the sound of the beef, lamb and cheddar meat loaf and the beer and honey glaze.

We made a few small changes to ingredients, and halved the recipe to serve 4 (or two with generous leftovers). There was some leftover glaze, as indicated in the original recipe, which we poured over the leftovers before reheating.

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf with a Stout & Honey Glaze

Glaze ingredients:

150 ml stout beer of your choice
50 grams light brown sugar
50 grams (2-3 tablespoons) honey

Meatloaf Ingredients:

1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
90 ml stout beer
1 slice white bread, roughly torn
60 ml whole milk
225 grams ground beef
225 grams pound ground lamb
1 large egg
100 grams strong cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 heaped teaspoon umami paste (or 10 grams dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted and finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
200 grams good quality streaky bacon, approximately 12 rashers

First make the glaze by bringing the stout, honey and sugar to a boil, in a small pan, then cooking on a medium heat until the the liquid thickens and reduces to half of the original volume. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180° C (fan).

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until just softened and beginning to take on colour.

Add the garlic and fry for another minute.

Add the stout and simmer briskly until the excess liquid has been absorbed or evaporated.

Set onion mixture aside in a bowl to cool down.

If using porcini mushrooms, add boiling water to reconstitute, soak for 10 minutes, drain and finely chop.

In a bowl, soak the bread in the milk, tossing lightly until soggy but not falling apart.

In a large bowl, combine all meatloaf ingredients except for the bacon. Mix by hand until thoroughly combined. (You can use a food processor for this step if you prefer).

Line a rimmed baking tray with aluminium foil, transfer the meat mixture onto the foil and shape into a rounded loaf.

Drape the meatloaf with slightly overlapping strips of bacon, tucking the ends under the loaf. Carefully cover the ends of the loaf with additional rashers.