Bacon-wrapped mac and cheese stuffed meatloaf is a 3-pound beef meatloaf with a full pocket of macaroni and cheese sealed inside, draped in bacon, and smoked at 225°F for about 3 hours until it hits 160°F internally. Slice it and the cheese sauce slides out like the loaf has something to confess. If you own a smoker or a pellet grill, this is your Sunday football project.
Last week I told you about a bacon bomb that fit in your hand. This week I’m upping the ante, because apparently I have no self-control and neither does the internet. Somewhere between a hotel breakfast buffet and a rental car in Richmond, I decided that meatloaf has been a coward for too long. It has been sitting there with its plain brown face when it could have been hiding a whole side dish.
A huge shoutout to the folks over at Dan-O’s Seasoning for this one. Their smoked bacon-wrapped mac and cheese stuffed meatloaf is the whole idea, and it’s a good one. Go give them a click, the full recipe card lives there.
Photo: Dan-O’s Seasoning
The meat mix is where you build the walls. In a big bowl, combine 3 pounds of 80/20 ground beef, 3 eggs, 1 cup of bread crumbs, a splash of milk, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire, 3 tablespoons of minced garlic, half a finely chopped onion, and one small chopped red bell pepper. Add a big squirt each of BBQ sauce, ketchup, and mustard, plus about a quarter cup of seasoning (they use their Spicy Dan-O’s). Mix it with your hands. Yes, it’s cold and weird and it gets under your fingernails. That’s the job.
Now make the mac and cheese, and make it thick. Boxed works. Homemade works better, and theirs uses cheddar jack, parmesan, cream cheese, butter, and milk stirred into elbow macaroni. Stir it until every noodle is coated, because the sauce is what keeps the middle from drying out. Let it cool a bit so it doesn’t melt your meat walls before the smoker does.
Shape a little over half the meat into a loaf base and hollow out a bowl in the center. Don’t make the walls thin, or you’ll have a cheese leak in your smoker, and nobody wants to scrape that off the grates. Fill the bowl with mac and cheese, flatten the rest of the meat into a patty, lay it on top, and pinch the seams shut. A little beaten egg helps it stick.
Coat the outside with more seasoning and drape 8 strips of bacon across the top. Set it on well-oiled grates in a smoker running 225°F and walk away for about 3 hours, until the internal temp reads 160°F. In the last 30 minutes, brush the top with a glaze of ketchup, BBQ sauce, sriracha, and a drizzle of honey. That glaze is what turns the bacon into something sticky and dark and a little bit dangerous.
Pro tip: rest it for 20 to 30 minutes before you cut it. I know, I know. It smells like a tailgate and you’re hungry. But slice it early and the mac and cheese pours out onto the board like a bad decision. Wait the 20 minutes. Pour a drink. Be a grown-up about it.
One honest note: the original recipe doesn’t give exact amounts for the BBQ sauce, ketchup, and mustard, so go by feel, and the page’s listed cook time looks like a typo. Three hours at 225°F for 3 pounds of beef is what the rest of the recipe calls for, and a thermometer is the final word either way.
My take: this is better than regular meatloaf in every way that matters, and it’s not close. You get beef, smoke, bacon, and a side dish in one slice, and nobody has to fight over the last scoop of mac. Somebody is going to ask for seconds before they’ve finished firsts.
So what goes in the middle of yours? Mac and cheese is the obvious play, but I’m already wondering about jalapeño poppers or loaded mashed potatoes. Drop your idea in the comments and tell me I’m not the only one thinking this way.
