Western Meatloaf

I did not like meatloaf as a kid. It was bland. It was dry. It was grayish brown and completely unappetizing. I needed a lot of ketchup to get it down; and I liked ketchup, but the experience wasn’t ever truly satisfying.

Then, a few weeks ago, Brent suggested we make a meatloaf. Thankfully, at this point in my life, I know there are a lot of foods that I didn’t like as a kid, that I love now. Plus, he didn’t want to make regular meatloaf. He wanted to make a meatloaf that reflected one of my favorite kinds of burgers: the western burger. Bacon, barbecue sauce, onion rings, yum.

This western meatloaf is savory, tangy, and super moist. I love it and I know you will, too!

Ingredients
1 C thinly sliced and quartered white onion
2/3 C tapioca flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
1 C avocado oil
5 slices of bacon
2 1/2 lbs ground bison or grass-fed ground beef
1 C finely chopped Baby Bella Mushrooms
3 eggs
10 Tbsp homemade barbecue sauce

Method

Mix flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a shallow bowl and heat 1/2 C avocado oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

In small batches, dredge onion strings in flour mix and fry in oil until lightly browned (for 30-60 seconds per side). Once you’ve fried about half of the onion strings, dispose of the oil and replace it with remaining avocado oil.

Set the onion strings aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Meanwhile, chop bacon slices. Mix the bacon with ground bison, mushrooms, eggs, and 6 Tbsp of barbecue sauce in large bowl.

Divide the mixture between two pans. Bake for 30 minutes.

Spread 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce over the top of each loaf. Then bake another 20 minutes.

Finally, sprinkle the onion strings over the top of the loaves. Broil for 3-5 minutes.

Let the loaves cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting and serving. During this time, some of the juices will seep back into the loaves to keep them moist.

We hope you enjoy this western meatloaf as much as we did! It’s a fun new twist on an American classic.