BACON WRAPPED MEATLOAF WITH A BOURBON MAPLE GLAZE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 2. Make the glaze: put all of the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. you want it to simmer, but not boil, for about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. While this simmers, you can start assembling the meat mixture.
• 3. Mix the meatloaf: In a large bowl add ketchup, egg, onion (grate on a medium grate on a box grater), carrot (grate on a medium grate on a box grater), garlic powder, Emeril's seasoning, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and mix to combine evenly. Add hamburger and breadcrumbs to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Set aside.
• 4. Make a bacon basket weave: On a piece of parchment or wax paper lay out 6 thick cut bacon slices next to each other. Fold every other one in half (3 down, 3 up), and place another piece of bacon next to the folded down bacon. Unfold the 3 pieces of bacon over the top of the piece you just laid down, and then fold down over that piece of bacon the other 3 slices that were not previously folded. where those fold down, you want to put another slice of bacon, and then repeat the process of folding back over, and folding down the other three. One more slice of bacon, and then half of the bacon weave is done. Repeat for the other half of bacon. You should have a total of 12 slices of bacon made into a basketweave mat of yumminess waiting to happen.
• 5. Shape the Loaf: Gather up the meatloaf mix by hand and shape it into a loaf about three inches shy of the length of your bacon mat, and about 1/3 of the width. You need to eyeball it here and use your best judgment so that when you lay the loaf in the middle, the long sides will have enough bacon to wrap up and over to the top so they almost meet each other, and the short sides will wrap up to totally cover the end pieces. Lay it in the center of the bacon mat.
• 6. Fold the bacon mat up and over the length of each of the long meatloaf sides so that it wraps up and over to the top, then fold the bacon from the ends up.
• 7. Place the dish you want to bake the loaf in over the loaf, and then grab the paper on one side, and hold the pan tight on the other side, and flip it over so that the loaf slides inside the pan. Center it in the pan, and then brush on the glaze over the maple. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes and then start basting every 15 minutes with the glaze. Keep basting until a meat thermometer inserted in the center