Celebrating meat for Dark Days Week 13

Forget everything you think you know about meatloaf.

Meatloaf in your household can be a juicy and delicious celebration of meat forevermore.

I now know, thanks in part to Week 13 of the Dark Days eat-local challenge, the secret ingredients for unbelievably moist meatloaf.

They are milk (just a little) and bacon (a lot).

It all started last year when my husband, the real culinary talent in the family, adapted a Tyler Florence meatloaf recipe from “Tyler's Ultimate” on the Food Network.

It was amazing, dare I say, life changing, a signature dish.

It seemed only natural then, when I found myself at the Ballard farmers market facing mostly meat vendors, to try the dish for Dark Days.

I was thrilled with the results.

Maybe it was the local meat, taken from an all-star list of local farmers, or maybe it was luck. But I suspect you can't lose with some form of Tyler's recipe, taken from his father's playbook.

I used beef from Thundering Hooves of Walla Walla (thanks, Spud delivery), veal from Quilceda Farm of Marysville, fresh pork sausage from Sea Breeze Farm on Vashon Island and bacon from, yet again, Skagit River Ranch of Sedro Woolley.

Those are my secret ingredients.

Tyler's are a special homemade relish and three slices of white bread soaked in whole milk.

Of course, I did my own adaptation based on available in ingredients, plus some of my husband's tricks, including an entire pound of bacon used in and on the loaf.

We enjoyed the meal with two of our best friends, who contributed Washington sweet potatoes from Lyall Farms of Mattawa (also procured at the Ballard farmers market).

We devoured it all quite quickly.

I meant to use ground pork, not pork sausage, but it was divine all the same. I also used, instead of ketchup, ancho-molasses Rub with Love sauce by Seattle chef Tom Douglas, the same stuff I used for ribs for Week 12.

My version of the recipe made enough stuff for two medium-sized meatloaves, not a bad thing since leftover meatloaf is so wonderful in sandwiches or reheated from frozen.

I must offer one tip, however: With all the bacon and juicy relish involved in this dish, you have to use bread pans, glass or metal, to contain the juices in the oven.

Leave about an inch of headspace in the pans to keep them from bubbling over and be sure to drain off the excess juices and fat before serving.

I made one regular loaf and put the rest in miniature glass loaf pans, which made unspeakably cute mini meatloaves.

Though my recipe is included here, I recommend you put your own spin on Tyler's take, too. His five-star-rated recipe features more than 500 reviews, most of them from people who say they'll never make their mother's or their own meatloaf recipes ever again.

His recipe includes two fresh red bell peppers in the relish. I omitted them because they won't be in season locally for months.

Find more ideas for Dark Days meals at urbanhennery.com.

Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com.

Unbelievably moist meatloaf

1 pound bacon

3 medium onions, chopped

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 12-ounce bottle barbecue sauce or ketchup

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3 slices soft white bread, torn into chunks by hand

1/4 cup whole milk

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground veal

1/2 pound pork sausage or ground pork

2 eggs, beaten

Leaves from 4 fresh thyme sprigs

1 teaspoon Tabasco

1 teaspoon cayenne

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Set aside 6 slices of bacon. Chop the remaining bacon into 1/2-inch pieces and cook in a saute pan over medium-heat heat. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside on paper towels to drain.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat and cook onion until soft. Return bacon to the pan. Add tomato, parsley, barbecue sauce and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper, heat the mixture through and remove it from heat.

Place torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover. Swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef, veal and sausage or pork with half the tomato relish, eggs and thyme, mixing thoroughly with your hands. Add Tabasco and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper.

Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. Mix again.

Spoon the mixture into two loaf pans. Top the loaves with the remaining relish. Leave about an inch of headspace in the pans to keep them from boiling over.

Lay three bacon strips across each loaf. Bake the loaves for 1 to 2 hours, or until the loaves are firm.

After removing the loaves from the oven, drain most of the juices and fat off by carefully tipping the loaf pans slightly to the side while they're still hot.

Let the loaves cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Adapted from “Dad's Meatloaf with Tomato Relish” by Tyler Florence