Meatloaf, But Considerably Better
Bison makes an excellent meatloaf but it is leaner than beef, so two adjustments matter: a proper panade of bread and milk to keep it moist, and a light hand when mixing. The glaze is where this version departs from tradition — reducing bone broth with tomato paste and molasses gives a savoury, sticky lacquer rather than the usual wall of ketchup sweetness.
Ingredients
Serves 6 | Cost: $6.75 per serving | Total: $40.50 | Ready in 50 min
- 900 g (2 lb) ground bison
- 80 g (1½ cups) fresh breadcrumbs
- 120 ml (½ cup) milk or unsweetened almond milk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 250 ml (1 cup) beef bone broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Make the panade. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl and leave for 5 minutes until the bread has absorbed all the liquid and turned to a soft paste.
- Mix gently. Add the ground bison, beaten eggs, thyme, 2 teaspoons of salt and plenty of black pepper to the panade. Mix with your hands only until just combined — overworking will make the loaf dense and tight.
- Shape and bake. Shape the mixture into a free-form loaf about 25 cm long on a lined baking tray. Baking it free-form rather than in a tin lets the sides brown properly. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Reduce the glaze. Meanwhile, simmer the bone broth with the tomato paste, molasses and cider vinegar in a small pan for 10–12 minutes until reduced to a thick, glossy glaze that coats a spoon.
- Glaze and finish. Brush half the glaze over the loaf and return it to the oven for 15 minutes. Brush on the remaining glaze, rest for 10 minutes before slicing, and serve with the resting juices spooned over.
Nutritional & Dietary Notes
Dairy-Free
There is no milk, cream, butter or cheese in this recipe. Richness comes from the meat, the cooking fat and the aromatics rather than from dairy, which makes it a comfortable choice for anyone who is lactose intolerant or avoiding dairy altogether.
High Protein
Built around a generous serving of premium BC-sourced protein, this dish is designed to support muscle repair, satiety and steady energy through the day. It works particularly well as a post-training meal or as the anchor of a high-protein meal prep rotation.
Featured HOTRO.ca Product
This recipe is built around Ground Bison from HOTRO.ca. We source premium BC-raised and ethically farmed meats and slow-simmered bone broth, so the quality of the core ingredient does most of the work for you. Substituting a lesser product will change the result more than any other single change you could make to this recipe.
A tender ground bison meatloaf finished with a sticky reduced bone broth and tomato glaze.