Cooking Wild Game: Moose meatloaf

Some of my favorite meals are based around wild game. Supper is hours away and my stomach is already growling. I mixed up moose meatloaf this afternoon to let it set for a few hours before I pop it into the oven. You can read about the day this moose became an ingredient in my supper.

Here’s the recipe. Adjust it as you see fit. Most ingredients are in “to taste” amounts.

1 pound ground moose (works well with deer, pork, turkey and beef)
1 egg
chopped onion.
chopped bell pepper
minced garlic
salt & pepper
seasoning (Weber, Gourmet Burger)
Parmesan cheese

ground moose meatCombine the moose meat with all ingredients except cheese, then sprinkle the cheese on top before baking. It’s just as good with the cheese mixed in but I like the appearance of it browned on top of the loaf. For seasoning this time I used Gourmet Burger by Weber. I sometimes use Italian seasoning or  I mix with my well-washed hands. I used two eggs because they’re small, laid by my Silkie chickens. The garlic was grown in my garden and the moose was hunted a few miles from here. The salt came from Maine Sea Salt. The onion, pepper and seasoning were store bought.

I don’t add bread crumbs or other dry fillers because moose is lean.

moose meatloaf ingredients 2One pound of ground meat filled two small cast iron pans. I baked the meat loaves in cast iron pans that hold one-half pound of meat each at 400* for 15 minutes. Moose meat is lean so be careful to not dry it out by over cooking. Cooking time and temperature vary with the size of the loaf. Cook moose to an internal temperature of 160*.

Moose meatloaf

 

Robin Follette

About Robin Follette

Maine Press Association award winner, 2013. Robin's Outdoors, Bangor Daily News, third place in Sports blogs. I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand and have always loved the outdoors. From gardening to hunting and fishing, kayaking, camping, hiking and foraging, most of my time is spent outdoors. I teach outdoor skills as a volunteer instructor for Hooked On Fishing - Not On Drugs and Becoming an Outdoors-Woman. Pro-staff at The Limb Grip. My personal blog is here. I'm currently working on my first book, a collection of short stories based on my outdoors experiences.