Bacon-Wrapped Buffalo Meatloaf

Chef John gives you all the tips and tricks you'll need to produce a flavorful and moist meatloaf in his recipe for bacon-wrapped buffalo meatloaf.

• Preparation Time: 40 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 10 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins
• Calories: 348 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 carrot, cubed
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 2 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 4 button mushrooms, chopped
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
• 2 pounds ground buffalo
• 7 slices thick-cut bacon, or more as needed
• 0.25 cup milk
• 0.25 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 0.5 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 fresh poblano pepper, chopped

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Step 2

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-heat. Cook and stir chopped bacon in hot butter until almost crisp, 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 3

Pulse onion, carrot, celery, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, mushrooms, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add vegetable mixture and rosemary to bacon in the skillet; cook and stir until vegetables soften and sweeten, about 5 minutes.

Step 4

Mix vegetable mixture, bread crumbs, and milk together in a bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Stir egg, salt, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and cayenne pepper into vegetable mixture. Add buffalo meat to vegetable mixture and mix with your hands until well-blended.

Step 5

Turn meat mixture out into prepared baking dish and shape into a 9x5x3-inch meatloaf. Lay bacon strips crosswise over the top of the meatloaf, tucking in ends of bacon under the loaf.

Step 6

Whisk rice vinegar, brown sugar, and mustard together in a bowl until glaze is smooth.

Step 7

Bake meatloaf in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Brush glaze over loaf and continue baking until no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 155 degrees F (68 degrees C). Cool for 10 minutes before slicing.