Bacon Wrapped Turkey Meatloaf

5 from 2 votes

Bacon Wrapped Turkey Meatloaf

I've already got another meatloaf on my website, but ... a few things prompted this recipe.

I wanted to play with a whole sheet of bacon.
Turkey, as I understand it, is pound-for-pound, the least expensive meat which can be purchased.
I like turkey and don't feel it needs to be relegated to November.
Who says I need to put a cap on meatloaf recipes?!

In all sincerity, this recipe really is here because I wanted to play with bacon. I've seen countless photos of this cool "lattice" bacon formation, all over the inter-web. I've seen it wrapped around whole turkeys (called "Turbacon!"), I've seen it formed into thin sheets, which were used to top brownies, I've even seen taco shells made from it. This all makes perfect sense, in some small way ... it all looks delicious and tastes even better!

So, this is just me playing. I'm having fun, doing silly things with food. As a kid, my Mom always told me not to play with my food.

In your face, Mom! (just kidding!)

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 35 mins

Servings: Servings

Calories: 443.225kcal

Author: DJ Foodie

Ingredients

1 lb cremini or button mushrooms finely chopped
2 tbsp butter or bacon fat
1 medium onion diced
4 each garlic clove minced
2 lbs ground turkey
2 small roasted bell peppers peeled, seeded and diced
2 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
1 1/2 cups pork rinds (fried skin) crushed
2 large whole eggs
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
12 slices raw bacon
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Assuming all veggies are sliced, diced and chopped, you want to finely chop the mushrooms. You can do this with a knife or a food processor. A cheese grater works really nicely, too.
Once the mushrooms have been chopped, sauté with half of the butter or bacon fat and a little salt and pepper. Sauté until the water cooks out is removed and you're left with a paste-like consistency.
In a separate pan, soften on low heat the onions and garlic with a little salt, pepper and the remaining butter or bacon fat. Sweat until translucent.
Set both veggies and mushrooms in the cooler to chill.
In a large bowl, combine the turkey, peppers, rosemary, egg, chicken stock, pork rinds and eggs; adding the onions, garlic and mushrooms last.
Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mix well. Should be a doughy consistency and not watery.
Make a lattice pattern with the 12 slices of bacon, alternating 6 strips with 6 other strips, facing the other directions. See the recipe notes for photos of this pattern.
Form a log with the turkey; about the size and shape of a small football.
Roll the turkey log into the bacon lattice sheet, making sure the sheet is tight and that the seam side is facing down.
Place a lightly greased sheet of parchment paper on a cookie tray. Set the meatloaf on it.
Bake for about 1 hour or until an internal temperature of 160°F.
Make sure to let rest about 15 minutes prior to slicing.

Nutrition