Wild Game Meatloaf

I never thought I’d be excited about making (or eating) meatloaf because, generally, meatloaf is kind of wah-wah-wahhhh on the scale from zero to exciting, but here I am, writing an entire blog about it! I’ve always LOVED cooking wild game because it’s healthy, tastes amazing, and, most importantly, I know where it comes from because I hunt it myself. I grew up eating moose, caribou, and deer meat that my dad had hunted, and I rarely ever saw my parents buy meat from the grocery store. Now that I’m a wife/mom/adult, I am overly aware of how important it is to eat lean, healthy protein, and not much can compare to the health benefits of eating wild game.

So I know meatloaf isn’t the most glamorous dish, but it IS easy, quick, and healthy, and our family LOVES it. So if you’re looking for some dinner inspo and have some ground meat lying around (I use wildgame, but you can definitely sub it for lean ground beef or ground turkey if preferred!), do yourself a favor and try this recipe out!

EVA’S ELK MEATLOAF

You’ll need:

2 lbs ground elk meat (or any lean, ground meat of your choosing)
1 cup dry bread crumbs (I prefer seasoned, but unseasoned is fine too)
1 cup Traeger BBQ sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce)
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup fresh parsley (or 2 tbsp of dried parsley works, too)
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp each dried basil, dried oregano, salt, pepper

Glaze:

1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Preheat Traeger (or regular oven) to 350 degrees F.
Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray.
Mix all ingredients (except for the glaze) by hand in a large bowl. Be careful not to overmix.
In a separate small bowl, mix together the glaze ingredients.
Pour half of glaze into the bottom of the loaf pan.
Put the meat mixture into the loaf pan so it fills the pan evenly.
Spread remaining glaze mixture over the top of the meatloaf.
Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F and meat is cooked through.
Let stand for five minutes before slicing.