by Texas Homesteader ~ 

With so much wild-game ground pork I made savory meatloaf using the ‘cook-once-eat-twice’ method of cooking. Whether you use wild game or ground beef, check out my simple recipe!

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Wild Pork Plentiful In Texas

RancherMan is an accomplished hunter, and as you all well know wild hogs are a destructive nuisance at our homestead. So it’s only natural that we have lots of wild pork in our freezer at any given time.

I’ve written before about different things I cook with this meat such as pork ribs on the grill, Slow-Cooker pork roast cooked with red wine, and ground pork BBQ sandwiches. 

Right now we have lots of ground pork due to RancherMan’s recent harvest of two wild sows on our property. So I decided to make meatloaf with some of it.

Cook Once, Eat Twice Batch Cooking

I use the “Cook Once, Eat Twice” method of cooking. That’s where I load up the oven with an entrée, enjoy it for supper one night & section out & freeze the rest for quick dinners at a later time.

The beauty is by using this cooking method I’ve dirtied up preparation dishes only once, I’ve fired up the oven only once. But I’ve got the main entrée covered for about 10 or more nights.

So into the oven 4 meatloaves went! RancherMan declared: “DELICIOUS!”

Making My Meatloaf

To make the meatloaf I pulled some of the ingredients I’d need. Canned tomatoes, 5 of our hen’s Free-Range Eggs and since I’m making 4 meatloaves at one time I brought out just over 4 pounds of ground pork.

I grated some carrots and chopped 2 large onions and a bell pepper and pressed 4 cloves of garlic. Then I mixed it all into the pork along with beaten eggs.

I went out to the garden & pulled a sprig of rosemary and a couple of stems of thyme. Gotta love fresh herbs!

I brought them inside and tossed the leaves into my coffee grinder that I use strictly for herbs and gave it all a whirl to chop them finely. Then I dumped the fresh herb powder into the meat mixture.

I added some prepared mustard, Worcestershire sauce and salt.

After this was all fully mixed I added 4 cups of breadcrumbs I previously made from some rock-hard sourdough bread (yep, I don’t like to waste a thing). If I don’t have any breadcrumbs I’ve been known to Substitute Oats For Breadcrumbs instead.

When everything was fully mixed I divided the meat mixture into four glass loaf pans, sloping the meat gently toward the edges to be able to easier drain off any fat. (although wild pork is amazingly lean and there shouldn’t be much fat to drain.)

When the loaves were prepared I slid them all into an oven heated to 350 degrees.

Baking An Oven FULL Of Meatloaves!

I cooked the meatloaves for just over an hour. After that time I pulled them out and spread some ketchup on the top.

Then I slid them back into the oven for about 10 minutes to set the tomato glaze on top. When the cooking time is done you want your meatloaf to measure 160 degrees F in the center of each loaf. Then the meat will be fully and safely cooked.

After we enjoyed the meatloaf for supper I was able to section off single-meal serving sizes from the cooled meatloaves.

I placed each supper portion in repurposed plastic bags I’d saved from prior food purchases such as tortillas or frozen veggies. This keeps them from all sticking together into a single, frozen lump. (LOL – ask me how I know…)

Then those individual filled bags were placed into a heavy zippered freezer bag with a quick label to indicate the food inside. Finally into the freezer it all went.

I really love that I’ve been able to use the pork harvested by RancherMan to nourish us for several nights with one single cooking session.

Although the ground pork we enjoy is very mild flavored, this meatloaf is savory enough to mask the fact that it’s not a traditional beef meatloaf.

And it’s versatile too. I can take some of this meatloaf out of the freezer and crumble it into spaghetti. Or I can use some of the servings as the meat base for chili, or even add mexican seasonings & crumble it for tacos, enchiladas or burritos.

That’s a lot of mileage from a few packages of ground meat!

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Batch Cooking Meatloaf (makes 4 loaves)

Batch cooking saves time. I like to make 4 meatloaves at a time as part of my Cook-Once, Eat-Twice method of cooking.  This meatloaf is one of RancherMan's Faves! #TexasHomesteader

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword batch cooking, ground beef, ground meat, meatloaf, wild game

Author www.TexasHomesteader.com

Ingredients

• 4 lbs ground meat (I use wild pork but you can use ground beef if desired)
• 4 carrots, shredded
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• 4 cups breadcrumbs (I often use oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs)
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tblsp salt
• 2 tsp prepared mustard
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tbsp Dried Thyme, or herb seasonings of choice (I like a couple of fresh stems of Thyme & a sprig of Rosemary, minced)
• ketchup for top of meatloves

Instructions

Directions:

1. Into ground meat add all other ingredients except ketchup and mix with hands until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

2. Separate into 4 glass loaf pans and pat into a firm loaf, gently sloping to the sides. Bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour or until meat is brown & fully cooked.

3. Remove meatloaves from oven & spread ketchup on top of the cooked loaves and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

~TxH~

Favorite Wild Hog Recipes

(Can use store-bought pork instead)

Pork Roast Recipes:

• Slow-Cooker Pork Roast w/Veggies
• Pork Roast w/Red Wine
• Italian-Flavored Pork Roast
• (Easily Shredding Pot Roast in Minutes)

Other Wild Pork Recipes:

• Smoked Ham Sandwich Spread
• Slow-Cooker Wild Hog Enchilada Casserole

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