From The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook.
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 pounds ground beef (80 percent lean)
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 slices thin-cut bacon
1. Heat oven to 350°. Whisk eggs with next 6 ingredients (salt through nutmeg) in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients (except bacon) and mix well. Form into a large loaf, 12 inches long and 7 inches wide, and place on top of a perforated broiler tray or onto a flat rack positioned in a roasting pan. (If the meat loaf is to be cooked on a rack, form the loaf first on a cutting board using wet hands. Place a large plate or platter on top, flip the loaf over, and then flip it back onto the rack.)
2. Cover the loaf with bacon strips, tucking one end of the strip under the loaf, draping it up and over the meat, and tucking the other end under the other side. (You may need to trim the bacon a bit if it is too long. You will only want a half inch or so tucked under each side. The portion of the bacon underneath the loaf will not brown.)
3. Bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 150° to 155°. (The USDA recommends 160°.) Cool for 20 minutes and serve.
Serves 8 to 10