Meatloaf in Smoky Barbecue Sauce

Cook Time 1 hour and 5 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus extra for greasing

1 onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely grated

150ml apple cider vinegar

200ml hoisin sauce

200g tomato passata

1 tsp Chinese five spice

500g beef mince

salt flakes and freshly ground

black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

50g cheddar, coarsely grated

1 egg

2 handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs

8 streaky bacon rashers

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a tray with baking paper and brush with a little extra virgin olive oil.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, add the onion and carrot and cook for 4–5 minutes to soften. Remove from the heat, place in a large bowl and cool to room temperature.

For the sauce, wipe the pan clean and add the vinegar, hoisin sauce, tomato passata and Chinese five spice. Pour in 125ml of water and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer for 5–10 minutes until the sauce is thick and fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid.

Place the mince in the bowl with the onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper and add 1 tablespoon of the sauce, dried oregano, cheese, egg and breadcrumbs. Using your hands, combine everything together. Shape into a log about 20cm long and brush with a little sauce. Lay the bacon down on the baking tray with the slices overlapping. Top with the log of meat then wrap the bacon around to enclose the meat. Flip over and place seam-side down on the tray. Brush the meatloaf with more sauce and bake for 40–45 minutes until cooked through, basting every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes, then baste with more sauce. Reheat the remaining sauce and serve alongside the meatloaf.