Easy Elk Meatloaf Recipe-Wild game everyone will love

An incredibly simple, versatile elk meatloaf recipe with creamy cheddar cheese, and a savoury sweet glaze that makes it moist and flavourful.

Until recently, I only had a handful of experiences eating wild meat, and it mainly included me not knowing I was eating wild meat. My mom always seemed leery dining at my uncle’s house… 

Contrary to my uncle’s belief, you don’t have to trick your kids into eating wild meat. The whole family will love it!  

“You’ll find me in the forest.”

These are the words from a little sticker we have fastened on our laptop. I put it there during a season when I was especially longing to live in the country; reaching for any semblance of connection with the slow, contemplative life I imagined one had when embracing a fraction of solitude in nature. I wanted to seize any opportunity that made me feel more grounded to the solid earth beneath my feet.

When we lived in the middle of the city with a tiny yard, that looked like constructing a small clothes line and hanging laundry out to dry; snapping a pair of damp pants and pinning them to the taut wire. It was planting perennials and sitting in a cracked plastic lounging chair, closing my eyes to listen to the sounds. I heard cars and traffic, but

if I push back the distractions a moment longer,

and reach a breath farther, I could make out more. Birds, always sparrows chirping so abrasively, then pressing in; the trill of a robin, excited voices of children out for recess at the school, a dog barking a few streets over.

Stillness, contemplation, and solitude are available wherever we are, but it’s a discipline to truly listen. One, I admit, I don’t slow down to do often enough. Now and then, at our new home, out in the country, I’ll pause while I’m doing chores, and listen. In the winter, there is thick silence. I find myself holding my breath, straining to pluck out a sound from somewhere in the distance. But on a frigid, snow blanketed evening near sunset, there may be no sound.

Somehow something clicks back into place in my chest during those moments.

Quiet and still, I imagine I’m all alone, only to be accompanied by the distinct “clack-clack” of the partridge that braves the Saskatchewan winter months; the beating of their short wings as they fly only a few feet off the ground, giving away their hiding spot.

In the summer, there is a cacophony of sounds; sparrows squawking, Red-Winged Black birds, Kingbirds, and yellow Finches adding their songs, rumbling tractors in the distance, wind rustling leaves.

Attempting to anchor myself to God, our Maker, and my tangible surroundings in a digital world, is when my family began growing our own food.

Chickens and gardens were the easiest chapters to begin. Later, we received an unexpected surprise.

We were gifted an entire elk!

I was giddy with excitement and apprehension. Interesting how two conflicting emotions seem to walk together so often. It was another learning opportunity. I had no idea how to get the meat from this animal, into those tightly wrapped brown paper packages that appear in our freezer.

Thankfully, my husband had some experience processing deer in his youth and some handy, hunting extraordinaries lent us anything we might need. After some spot-on advise, my husband and father-in-law pieced out the elk with a couple sharp knives, and a hand saw. My mom-in-law and I washed and wrapped little brown paper packages.

The rest of the evening found our boys propped on the counter taking turns feeding the leftover chunks into a grinder. We use the ground elk any place we would use ground beef with little to no recipe adjustments. The cuts might not look perfect, but let me tell you, they taste amazing! We grilled some T-bone elk steaks just like we would a beef steak. I’d choose elk over beef any day now!

The meat has been moist and tender.

The flavour mildly sweet somehow.

I was talking to a friend whose husband had recovered from cancer. I asked her what kinds of changes if any, they had made to their lifestyle since that incredibly difficult season. One thing she said was that her husband only eats wild meat! I was intrigued. I’ve since learned that deer, compared to beef, oz for oz, is lower in fat and calories, yet higher in protein. It is also low in cholesterol, high in omega 6, vitamin E, zinc, vitamin B (6), and iron. Wild game is a great way to add healthy recipes to your diet.

So here’s to leaning in and listening,

failing and flourishing,

and trying new things. 

Easy Elk Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground elk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp onion flakes or half a medium onion finely minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. In a small bowl, beat eggs.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground meat, oatmeal (bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs work too), salt, pepper, onion flakes, grated carrots, and beaten eggs. Mix with your hands to fully incorporate. 

4. Add shredded cheese to meatloaf mixture and combine. Feel free to be creative here! Easily zip some garlic cloves and fresh onion in a food processor. Substitute 1/2 tsp onion powder for the flakes or garlic powder to keep things quick and easy. Shake in a tsp of Italian seasoning, or a pinch of red pepper flakes for some heat. The sky is the limit with this classic elk meatloaf recipe.

5. Press meat mixture into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan.

6. To make the sweet and tangy glaze, add 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup ketchup, and 1 Tbsp mustard in a small bowl and stir to combine. Take some creative liberty here as well! Instead of a ketchup mixture, use your favorite bbq sauce or tomato sauce, a dollop of dijon mustard, a splash of apple cider vinegar, and worcestershire sauce. 

7. Spread glaze evenly on top of the meatloaf.

8. Bake uncovered for 1 hour in preheated oven. 

9. Remove from oven. The shredded cheese and grated carrot add the desired moisture to our game meats, but if it seems like too much I’ll just tip the meatloaf pan to the side and drain off any excess.

10. Return to oven for 15 minutes, use a meat thermometer to confirm an internal temperature of 160 degrees F in the centre of the meatloaf.

11. Cool slightly and spoon comfort food portions from the bakeware. Try caramelized onions on the side!

Elk Meatloaf Recipe Variations:

This recipe was originally for ground beef instead of ground elk meat! However, when preparing with beef, I use only one egg, and add 2/3 cup whole milk. Avid hunters? Try it with ground moose. Ground turkey is similar to ground elk, in that it is typically very lean, therefore I would feel confident substituting turkey for elk as well.

Next? Filling our freezer with some homegrown pasture pork, here.

Longing for a piece of land to call your own, but feel like it is unattainable? That was us a few years ago, too.