Elk Meatloaf

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I'm giving the crew a choice of meals when they get home tomorrow, either super succulent slow oven roasted baby back ribs with home made bbq sauce (already made and in the fridge), or a meatloaf that I'm baking right now.

The meatloaf is unique for me, as I'm making it with ground elk, and constructing it a bit differently. I tested the meatloaf mixture by pan frying a tbs. of the mixture in a pan, and it tastes great. I also made a sauce for it. Here's how I'm making it:

Meatloaf Ingredients:
3/4 cup Stovetop Stuffing Mix (already well seasoned)
1 tbs. ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup diced onion
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tbs. A1 Steak Sauce
3 tbs. finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano (freshly grated)
4 tbs. finely grated Pecorino Romano
1 lb. ground elk

Combine all ingredients, except the elk, in a SS bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until stuffing mix is fully hydrated. Add elk, and fold together until well mixed. Cover and set aside.

Sauce/glaze:
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbs. smoked paprika
1 tbs. A1 Streak Sauce (adds peppery/vinegar notes)
3 tbs. whipped honey
2 tbs. table sugar
1 cup catsup

Combine ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Stir to combine. Heat in microwave for 1 minute. Stir again to dissolve sugars. Taste, and adjust to taste.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375' F.

Line a loaf pan with heavy-duty foil, taking care not to rupture the foil. Spray foil with a little cooking spray.

Place 1/3 of the meatloaf mixture into the loaf pan, spreading it evenly. and pushing into corners. Spoon just enough sauce on top to cover the meat mixture. Add another third of the meat on top, and again cover with sauce. Add the remaining meat and cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake for 45 minutes.

At the end of the baking time, remove the meatloaf from the oven. Carefully remove the foil top, opposite side from you first, to let any trapped steam escape away from you. Cover top with remaining glaze/sauce, and return to the oven. Bake ten more minutes. Test with instant read meat thermometer. The center must read at least160', and not more than 170' place foil back on, and let cool. Serve, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

I'll take pictures when this is done, and let everyone know how it turned out, both in texture, and flavor.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

The meatloaf now has to cool, and be placed in the fridge. I removed a spoonful of the juices, and tasted. The juices, of which ther is plenty, taste really good. If the loaf is as tasty, this one is a real winner.

When the loaf is removed from the foil, s;iced and served, I'll get more pictures. What do you think, rice, or smashed spuds, and maybe some buttered cauliflower for sides?

Here's pictures.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Oh how tempting it is to cut into that meatloaf. Exercise patience and discipline Chief; patients and discipline. Don't be a .

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

As promised, pictures out of the loaf pan:

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[GotGarlic]

I almost always serve meatloaf with mashed potatoes Looks amazing, Chief. Your family is in for a treat.

[dragnlaw]

My vote is for mash potatoes too.
Meatballs and meatloaf are two of my favourite meals.


That look very very yummy!
(I'll pm you my address to send a slice, )

[taxlady]

I know that potatoes in some form is traditional. When we bake a Danish meatloaf, wrapped in bacon and not in a loaf pan, we usually put potato wedges around the meatloaf to soak up juices as the bake. When I bake a meatloaf in a pan, we usually like to have brown rice to go with it and soak up juices from the meatloaf, while it's on our plates.

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by taxlady

I know that potatoes in some form is traditional. When we bake a Danish meatloaf, wrapped in bacon and not in a loaf pan, we usually put potato wedges around the meatloaf to soak up juices as the bake. When I bake a meatloaf in a pan, we usually like to have brown rice to go with it and soak up juices from the meatloaf, while it's on our plates.

I like to pour off the juices and use them to make gravy for the mashed potatoes I usually serve them the meal with some bread, too, to make sure we get every bit of succulence.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

It was worth the wait. Placing down 1/3 layers with a glaze of sauce between layers gave every bite really good flavor, with a tasty finishing glaze on top. The mashed potatoes were made by cooking whole potatoes, skin on, then peeling when cooked through, and mashed with lots of butter, a little salt and white pepper to season, and a splash of milk to finish. Everyone loved supper last night. The grandkids insisted on taking the remaining meatloaf for school lunch today.

This morning, we were discussing world records. I told them that I hold a world record. When they asked what it was, I told them that I have the world record for the world's best grandkids. That got me big hugs. What more can a guy ask for than that?

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[GotGarlic]

You are a lucky man, Chief.

[Bitser]

When I made meatloaf from antelope, I used it ground and mixed with ground pork which has more fat. Then, minced onion and garlic, and panko bread crumbs soaked in milk, with fine grated parmesan, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and a spray of oil on the outside. The Cobb Cooker gave it a pleasantly smoky flavor.

[taxlady]

Now that I think about it, I probably made meatloaf using ground moose. Meatloaf was on rotation more often, back then. We had a lot of ground moose meat. I remember making burgers. I don't specifically remember making meatloaf though.

[Bitser]

I love moose, but have never bagged one. Elk, likewise. This is good country for mule deer and pronghorn antelope, with a few moose tags available on a lottery. When I worked at a hunting camp or helped friends, dressing and skinning elk, I sometimes got a quarter as a gift. It's grand!