Granite City Inspired Meatloaf Recipe - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 slices bacon
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup shallot, chopped small, not minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery rib, chopped small, not minced
1 medium carrot, chopped small, not minced
1 cup Guinness stout
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup steak sauce, and
2 tablespoons steak sauce
2/3 cup ketchup, divided use
1 1/2 lbs lean hamburger, no more than 10% fat
3/4 lb pork sausage
2 large eggs
2 cups unseasoned breadcrumbs
1/3 cup brown sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Fry bacon in large pan/skillet and remove when done. Remove all but about 3 tbsp grease.
Remove pan from heat and add butter, let it sit until melted.
Add shallots, garlic and celery and saute over medium heat for about 1 minute.
Add carrots and saute for about 1 minute.
Add Guinness, bouillon cubes, pepper and stir well. Add 1/3 cup steak sauce and 1/3 cup ketchup. Return to simmer/very low boil and let simmer for about 90 seconds. Remove from heat.
Chop fried bacon. Combine hamburger, pork, eggs, bread crumbs, and bacon in large mixing bowl; mix well with spoon or hands.
Add brown sugar and shallot and Guinness mixture from pan and mix well.
Knead until consistently moist - add more bread crumbs if too wet, or more Guinness if too dry - it should be a moist but not wet consistency. (we ended up adding more breadcrumbs. I would guess we used at least 3 cups total) Form into an evenly shaped loaf in a large pan - this will NOT fit in a normal meatloaf pan.
Wipe top and sides with the remaining 1/3 ketchup mixed with the remaining 2 tbsp steak sauce.
Bake about 75 minutes in preheated oven at 350 degrees F - until center of loaf measures 160+ with meat thermometer.