I had lunch recently at a place called the Secret Society of Sandwiches in Fayetteville, near the New River Gorge, and had THE best meat loaf and bacon jam sandwiches, which put me in the mood for meat loaf and bacon jam. I love a spicy meat loaf, but you can substitute the jalapeno peppers I use for mild peppers or onions, and change up the spices, add herbs, whatever you like. Though, I think you have to drink the rest of the beer left over after you use the half-cup in the recipe. Yeah, pretty sure. (Sorry!)
If this makes too big of a loaf for you, you can easily cut the recipe in half. You can use any kind of ground meat. I use lean ground sirloin usually, but it is great with ground lamb.
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How to make Spicy Meat Loaf:
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup beer, dark rum, or apple juice
1/2 cup sweet barbeque sauce
1/2 cup diced jalapeno peppers
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoons crushed red and black peppers
sweet barbeque sauce for topping
Mix all ingredients (except the barbeque sauce for topping) until well combined. To bake in a loaf pan, I use an extra-large loaf pan (1 1/2 quarts). Or, shape free-form and place in a baking dish. After transferring to the greased loaf pan or baking dish, pour barbeque sauce over the top.
Bake, uncovered, at 350-degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
What you need to go with this, of course, is bacon jam.
How to make Bacon Jam:
2 pounds bacon
2 medium yellow onions, diced*
1 cup dark rum
1 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup ketchup
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
*If you like it super spicy, add some diced jalapeno peppers.
Cook bacon in a large saucepan. Drain bacon and remove all the drippings from the pot except enough to saute the onions. Saute onions. Add back the cooked bacon along with the remaining ingredients.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about an hour, til thickened. (Could also do this in a slow cooker.) Don’t over-do it–it will thicken more after cooling. Let cool. Pulse in a food processor–just get it to a jam-like texture. Keep refrigerated. (Keeps about two weeks. If it lasts that long.) Makes about 2 pints.
Bacon jam is great with crackers (with or without cream cheese) and as an accompaniment to any meat.
And meat loaf is great with mashed potatoes, but this here is what I call a SANDWICH. Lettuce, tomato, meat loaf….topped with bacon jam, on homemade bread with mayo.
See these recipes at Farm Bell Recipes and save them to your recipe box:
Spicy Meat Loaf
Bacon Jam
djbrown says:
Your back 😉 ! Boy did I miss your cooking when the guys moved out, but bacon jam! Woohoo I’m thinking I’m going to make this when I get home next week. Oh and that meatloaf sounds pretty good to 😀 Thanks for the inspiration. Deb
On July 31, 2013 at 8:12 am
TracyT says:
You had me going there for a moment. I thought “Meatloaf and Bacon Jam” was going to be about jam containing, well, meatloaf and bacon. It sounded a little frightening, frankly. I was a-skeered. But reading further, of course, both (separate) foods sound terrific, and even better when combined in the meatloaf sandwich. Phew…
On July 31, 2013 at 9:55 am
JLSummers says:
Looks really good. When weather turns cold I’ll give it a try. “Bacon Jam” is a real eye catcher.
On July 31, 2013 at 11:16 am
AnnieB says:
If you don’t have rum around the house, do you think you could substitute beer in the bacon jam?
On July 31, 2013 at 11:18 am
DeniseS says:
Am sending the Bacon Jam Recipe to friends who belong to a Bacon Lover’s Club. The group travels all over to sample the best bacon/bacon filled foods at restaurants and fairs. I do not ever remember either he or his wife mentioning bacon jam. Thank you for the recipe. It will make their day.
On July 31, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Dghawk says:
Hmmmm…bacon jam. Read your post this a.m. at work, and have been thinking about it all day. At first I thought I’d make some to give as gifts this Christmas, then thought, NO! It’s mine. Allllll mine!
On July 31, 2013 at 4:48 pm
holstein woman says:
This sounds like a DH recipe tryout. He loves meatloaf and always has bar be cue sauce on it or ketchup, unless I put honey mustard sauce on it (my favorite). Sometimes I’ll put one on one end and the other on the other. I have to try the bacon jam on him and not tell him what it is.
Try this if you like: I always stuff my meatloaf like a jellyroll. Roll onto a dish cloth like a jellyroll cake THIN slice salami, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms onions etc. Lay flat on the loaf, roll up in the towel and roll onto a flat cookie sheet open side down. Bake as usual. I take these to church meals and always get rave reviews. It was DH’s idea and it does good.
On July 31, 2013 at 5:46 pm
Faith says:
I don’t like meatloaf and almost skipped over this without reading, glad I didn’t! This sounds so good that I may have to give it another try, and the bacon jam sounds wonderful! Love smoky hot with a bit a sweet…an Andy Griffith MMMMMMMmmmmmm
On August 1, 2013 at 1:22 pm
mamajoseph says:
If you couldn’t use rum or any alcohol in this, what would you substitute? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure I’ll have to make this as soon as I can get 2# of bacon.
On August 1, 2013 at 2:19 pm
Faith says:
holstein woman, your specials mixed with Suzanne’s, sound perfect!! Just anything to get rid of that boring, bland, meatloafy with oatmeal or bread crumb, yucky taste…I am going to try it and maybe put some mozzarella in the jelly roll style too!
On August 1, 2013 at 2:39 pm