Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Pour the oil into a sauté pan and set over medium-high heat.
  3. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  5. In a mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, thyme, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and milk.
  6. Place the ground meat into another bowl and pour the egg mixture over the meat.
  7. Add the saltines, parsley, onion, and garlic to the bowl.
  8. Season with salt and pepper.
  9. Roll up your sleeves, and knead the meat together with the other ingredients until well blended (if you like, cook a small portion of the mixture in a pan, taste, and adjust seasoning).
  10. Transfer to a cookie sheet and form into a loaf.
  11. If using the bacon, wrap the slices lengthwise over the top and tuck them under the loaf, to completely cover the meat.
  12. Bake for 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf reads 160 degrees.
  13. If the bacon on the top is not as crisp as you would like, put the meatloaf under the broiler for a few minutes.
  14. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
  15. Slice and serve with mushroom gravy (recipe#66984) and mashed potatoes recipe#104098.
  16. Mushroom Gravy (recipe#66984): Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat.
  17. Add the mushrooms and sauté until brown, about 7 minutes.
  18. Stir in the flour; it will become very pasty.
  19. Cook this roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  20. It will stick to the bottom of the pan a little bit; that's okay.
  21. Stir in the stock, wine, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil.
  22. Cook the sauce at a lively simmer for 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly and scraping any crusty bits that adhere to the bottom of the pan.
  23. Serve in a sauceboat.