Wild Boar Meatloaf

[Shel_B]

A friend just gave me a couple of pounds of ground wild boar, and I'd like to make a meatloaf with it next week.

 

My thoughts were to mix the boar with some ground pork, something that would add a little fat to the mix, as the boar looks awfully lean.  sauté some mirepoix, perhaps use leeks instead of onions, some roasted garlic, grind up some mushrooms to add to the mixture, maybe some ground, dried porcini 'shrooms, and add some finely diced herbs (but not sure which herbs would work well with boar), an egg or two, mix well by hand, and bake free-form.

 

Any thoughts on the herb-mirepoix mixture - perhaps some other additions?  What internal temp should I be looking at?

 

Thanks!  This'll be my first boar loaf.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[rotuts]

first, take a little of it, make a small burger patty.  just a little salt, a little pepper. cook at least medium.  Who knows what Mr. B's been eating, eh?

 

taste it.  it should then tell you what it needs to bring out its BoarNess to suit your tastes.   After all, now you've tasted Boar.

 

add all that other stuff, first time, who knows what your tasting.   Let it talk you you first.

Edited March 5, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[gfweb]

Trichinella will be an issue in wild boar.  Freezing the meat will eliminate that worry.  Otherwise medium well!

[Shel_B]

Trichinella will be an issue in wild boar.  Freezing the meat will eliminate that worry.  Otherwise medium well!

 

It's already frozen.

[mgaretz]

A friend just gave me a couple of pounds of ground wild boar, and I'd like to make a meatloaf with it next week.

 

My thoughts were to mix the boar with some ground pork, something that would add a little fat to the mix, as the boar looks awfully lean.  sauté some mirepoix, perhaps use leeks instead of onions, some roasted garlic, grind up some mushrooms to add to the mixture, maybe some ground, dried porcini 'shrooms, and add some finely diced herbs (but not sure which herbs would work well with boar), an egg or two, mix well by hand, and bake free-form.

 

Any thoughts on the herb-mirepoix mixture - perhaps some other additions?  What internal temp should I be looking at?

 

Thanks!  This'll be my first boar loaf.

 

Thyme works for me in meatloaf.  I also add oatmeal (the standard rolled oats you get in bulk) to mine instead of the usual bread crumbs - about a cup for 2 lbs of meat.  I also add a tsp of soy sauce and a tbs of tomato paste (or ketchup if I don't have any paste in the tube).  I also add about 1 tsp of gelatin, letting it bloom on the beaten egg.  I got this tip from CI and I have tried it with and without.  Without definitely makes for a drier loaf.

Edited March 6, 2014 by mgaretz (log)

[andiesenji]

I've cooked a fair amount of boar meat in the past (prepped roasts and etc., for hunters whose wives had no desire to fool around with it).

(Saddle roasts, rolled and stuffed loin, crown roasts and etc.) In exchange I got part of the meat.

 

For ground boar, (ground my own) I add dried cherries or cranberries to the meat, as well as the oatmeal as suggested by mgaretz, ground or finely chopped pork fat,  salt and pepper, thyme and a little sage, brown sugar (one tablespoon per pound), onions, an egg and a little milk.

I personally don't care for tomato in the meatloaf but if you like it, tomato paste is the way to go. 

I often include Pimenton, the smoked paprika, about a tablespoon for two pounds of meat. 

I've also added dried, reconstituted mushrooms, with most of the liquid squeezed out, to the mixture.

 

FIRST!  Before you do anything else, after the meat is thawed,  mash it into a flat slab.  For 2 pounds, mix 2 teaspoons of  baking SODA in 3 Tablespoons of water and sprinkle evenly over the meat, then work the meat with your hands (or a potato masher) until it is completely blended, allow it to stand at room temp for 30-40 minutes and then proceed with adding the other ingredients. 

 

The reason for this is to "relax" the components in the heavily muscled meat so you don't end up with rubbery little bits - think of jujubes - which resist chewing.  (Also works with venison, elk, other dense muscle meats.) 

[Shel_B]

Thyme works for me in meatloaf [...] I also add about 1 tsp of gelatin, letting it bloom on the beaten egg.  I got this tip from CI and I have tried it with and without.  Without definitely makes for a drier loaf.

 

I like the idea of adding some gelatin ... Thyme with boar meat?  I wouldn't have thunk it <LOL>

Edited March 6, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[andiesenji]

I looked up one of my notes about seasoning boar meat.  My thyme was not doing so well so used marjoram which can substitute nicely for thyme.

 

I make carnitas with meat from a hind leg (lower 2/3 with the "ham" removed)  and took it to an eG potluck several years ago.

 

Here's a photo of the meat before the other ingredients were added.  The meat was much darker, more red, than domestic pork and this was braised for a very long time to achieve tenderness.  The flavor was exceptional.

[mgaretz]

I like the idea of adding some gelatin ... Thyme with boar meat?  I wouldn't have thunk it <LOL>

Just to be clear, I have never made meatloaf (or anything, for that matter) with boar meat. My meatloaf is strictly ground beef.

[ambra]

If I were you, I'd make sauce out of it and serve over pappardelle or something similar.

[Shel_B]

If I were you, I'd make sauce out of it and serve over pappardelle or something similar.

 

Well, you're not me, and since Toots is a big fan of meatloaf, and not a big fan of noodles and pasta, meatloaf it will be.