enfr

Meat Lover Meatloaf with Bacon

Published on 29 Jan 2011 |
4 Comments

It’s the Deluxe Edition printed in 1975. The only cookbook my mother owned, that and a Five Roses Flour spiral guide. It’s covered in plastic wrap like my old school books, most probably the victim of a back-to-school afternoon of textbook-covering frenzy that got out of hand. The title is an indicator of the times: “La Nouvelle Encyclopédie De La Cuisine” (The New Encyclopedia of Cuisine) by Mrs. Jehane Benoit. And it’s one of the cookbooks cherished by Danny St-Pierre, chef & owner of celebrated Auguste restaurant in Sherbrooke.

As part of my last book À la bonne franquette, I had asked 80 of Quebec’s top chefs not only for their favourite family recipe, but also that special local food near and dear to their heart. Most of them picked a cheese, fine liqueur or other artisan product. But for Danny St-Pierre, who had received the Encyclopedia as a gift, it had come to embody the best part of Québec’s food heritage. Not surprisingly, for his family recipe, he also chose that simple, everyday dish that his little girl just loves: Jehane Benoit’s Meatloaf.

________

Dame Jehane

Jehane Benoit is Québec’s answer to Julia Child, a pioneer who studied at the same school as the American grande dame, the famed Cordon-Bleu in Paris. Mrs. Benoit did not stop there however, going on to graduate as a food chemist from the Sorbonne…in 1925! Not only did she write 30 cookbooks, including one of Canada’s first treatise on microwave cooking, she also owned a popular restaurant. I often find myself wishing eager young cooks would rediscover Jehane Benoit the same way Americans have recently come to celebrate Julia Child.

________

I have cooked this meatloaf many times over since Danny sent it to me and it has become a family favourite in our home too. In fact, I am profoundly grateful for this recipe which somehow convinced my 4-year-old picky eater to try a bite of mashed potatoes to go along—the first time ever he agreed to eat his spuds otherwise than fried. Can you spell Alleluia?

So here is Jehane’s meatloaf, pulled out of oblivion by one of our best chefs dedicated to Québec’s food culture. To Danny St-Pierre, thank you for allowing me to offer it to readers of this blog, in its À la bonne franquette version. The ultimate comfort food, it has earned its place in our monthly meal rotation and I hope your family will enjoy it just as much. Bon appétit!

Note: For all intents and purposes, the only changes to the original recipe is the omission of sage or marjory, and chopping the onions instead of grating them. I recommend you let the meatloaf sit for a bit (or use a transparent pan) since it can get quite “juicy.”

Excerpted from:

    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes
    • Yield
    • 6
Meat Lover Meatloaf with Bacon

Ingredients

  • 250 ml (1 cup) milk
  • 180 ml (3/4 cup) breadcrumbs
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 750 g (1.5 lbs) medium lean ground beef
  • 125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped onion (I just use a large onion)
  • 5 ml (1 tsp) salt
  • 1 pinch of fresh ground black pepper
  • 10 slices of bacon (I use the center cut, reduced in salt)
  • *
  • Glaze:
  • 45 ml (3 tbsp) brown sugar
  • 60 ml (1/4 cup) ketchup
  • 1 pinch of nutmeg
  • 5 ml (1 tsp) dried mustard

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
  • 2. In a bowl, combine milk and breadcrumbs, then let soak 15 minutes.
  • 3. Meanwhile, combine remaining meatloaf ingredients, except bacon, mixing well. Blend in breacrumb mixture.
  • 4. Line a bread pan with bacon, overlapping slices and letting ends hang out (to visualize recipe steps, click on the How To button above).
  • 5. Pour beef mixture into pan.
  • 6. Pulling gently, close bacon slices over beef mixture to encase your meatloaf. (For moms: My son requests this dish on a regular basis, as much for the pleasure of mixing the meatloaf as eating it, I suspect. The results may be messy and uneven but he has a blast. Most of all he loves to wrap the bacon slices to make the meatloaf look like a “football”, he says.)
  • 7. Place a dinner plate on top of the bread pan and unmold meatloaf into the plate. Gently glide meatloaf back into the pan, “suture side” down.
  • 8. Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl and pour all over meatloaf.
  • 9. Cook in oven 1 hour and serve with good ole mashed potatotes.
  • 10. *This vintage recipe comes from an era with different quality meat and bacon. You may want to choose a more natural, "meaty" bacon that won't release too much salt and fat when cooking, and produce a soggy bottom. Err on the side of leaner ground beef as well depending on your butcher's mix. I've found a metal loaf pan to be better, the instant heat transfer helps to produce crustier sides. Finally, let the meatloaf rest a good 15 minutes before cutting and serving so the cooking liquid can be reabsorbed.

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
  • 2. In a bowl, combine milk and breadcrumbs, then let soak 15 minutes.
  • 3. Meanwhile, combine remaining meatloaf ingredients, except bacon, mixing well. Blend in breacrumb mixture.
  • 4. Line a bread pan with bacon, overlapping slices and letting ends hang out (to visualize recipe steps, click on the How To button above).
  • 5. Pour beef mixture into pan.
  • 6. Pulling gently, close bacon slices over beef mixture to encase your meatloaf. (For moms: My son requests this dish on a regular basis, as much for the pleasure of mixing the meatloaf as eating it, I suspect. The results may be messy and uneven but he has a blast. Most of all he loves to wrap the bacon slices to make the meatloaf look like a “football”, he says.)
  • 7. Place a dinner plate on top of the bread pan and unmold meatloaf into the plate. Gently glide meatloaf back into the pan, “suture side” down.
  • 8. Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl and pour all over meatloaf.
  • 9. Cook in oven 1 hour and serve with good ole mashed potatotes.
  • 10. *This vintage recipe comes from an era with different quality meat and bacon. You may want to choose a more natural, "meaty" bacon that won't release too much salt and fat when cooking, and produce a soggy bottom. Err on the side of leaner ground beef as well depending on your butcher's mix. I've found a metal loaf pan to be better, the instant heat transfer helps to produce crustier sides. Finally, let the meatloaf rest a good 15 minutes before cutting and serving so the cooking liquid can be reabsorbed.

4 Responses to Meat Lover Meatloaf with Bacon

  1. Lily 27 Apr 2020 at 1:36 pm #

    Du gros gâchis… trop de gras… à dû égoutter de nombreuses fois… donc tout perdu la sauce du dessus….

    Reply
    • Lynne 4 May 2020 at 11:57 am #

      Bonjour. Désolée d’apprendre que la recette vous a déçu. C’est la recette originale de Jehane Benoit elle-même que le chef Danny St Pierre cuisine pour ses enfants. La photo qui l’accompagne a été prise par moi quand je l’ai cuisinée pour cet article, comme vous pouvez voir, la sauce a tenu le coup. Le bacon produit effectivement un pain de viande plus mouillé (mais vraiment décadent au goût). Personnellement j’utilise toujours du bacon avec plus de viande que de gras, traité naturellement et non imbibé de sel. Certains bacons perdent la moitié de leur poids à la cuisson, c’est fou!

      Peut-être que la viande hachée utilisée était trop grasse et a donné trop de liquide? Les épiceries n’ont pas toutes la même version du mi-maigre, je trouve. Enfin, le moule peut aussi faire une différence. Un moule en verre produit plus de liquide qu’un moule en métal qui devient très chaud rapidement. Si le fond semble trop mouillé, c’est toujours une bonne idée de laisser reposer un pain de viande pendant 15 minutes pour que la viande réabsorbe les jus de cuisson (si la viande de départ n’était pas trop grasse, ce qui devient difficile à rectifier). Je serais fâchée aussi devant un pain de viande raté 🙁 C’est un classique de madame Benoit et peut-être qu’à son époque, le bacon, la viande hachée, etc. étaient différents d’aujourd’hui, moins d’additifs, etc.

      Merci de vos commentaires, je vais ajouter les trucs que je vous donne au billet même si ce n’est pas ma recette, ça pourrait aider d’autres personnes.

      Reply
  2. Pierrette ste-croix 26 Aug 2023 at 2:02 pm #

    Si je remplace la chapelure par du gruau es ce ok?

    Reply
    • Lynne 15 Oct 2024 at 11:20 am #

      Sûrement. Je n’ai jamais essayé, mais c’est pareil comme ingrédient.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Share