Buffalo Meatloaf (with Ketchup!)

I really like buffalo meat and I saw some ground buffalo at Sprout's a few weeks ago and bought a pound.  I wasn't sure what I would do with it but I bought it anyway.  Then, my mom was talking about meatloaf and how much she likes it and I said, 'I don't really make meatloaf anymore.'  It's just a little hard with my dietary restrictions and I didn't like it the last time I made it (a year ago maybe).  Anyway...I thought, 'if only I could find a good buffalo meatloaf recipe to try, then I could use my buffalo meat.'  Well, I didn't find any good recipes specific to buffalo but I did find a meatloaf recipe that I could use buffalo for.  In reality, though, I merged this recipe with my mom's tried and true recipe to create one delicious meatloaf that really hit the spot tonight.

One thing to know about my family and meatloaf: my mom does not like ketchup at all.  She would allow us to dip our meatloaf in ketchup but I'm sure it disgusted her.  She would never, ever dream of putting the ketchup in or on top of the meatloaf before baking, which is a prominent mode of making meatloaf.  I, however, like ketchup with my meatloaf and even spent a few years eating Sunday dinner at a friend's house where they baked their meatloaf with ketchup and pineapple on top (I don't like the pineapple though).  So I have had the best of both worlds but had never tried making meatloaf with ketchup before.  Now I have.

Here is my recipe.  I will try to recreate it but, to be honest, I didn't measure the spices really.

1 pound ground buffalo
2 eggs
1/3 cup almond meal
1 scant tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tbsp dried onions
1/3 cup ketchup divided in half  

So you mix it all together except the ketchup.  1/6 c goes into the meat mixture and the other 1/6 c is spread on top of the loaf before baking.  Bake at 350 for about an hour.

Here is my meatloaf before applying the ketchup on top.  It was pretty wet and I debating adding more almond meal but decided against it. 

Here it is after baking.  I thought it looked really weird/funny.  It looks like it has cheese on it or something!  It reminded me of pizza!  I think that's the egg but I can't be sure.  Whatever it is, it tasted great and was within my dietary constraints (with low sugar ketchup of course) which makes it a keeper. 

And here is my beautiful dinner paired with broccoli.  Yum, yum, yum.  I was surprised how good the meatloaf was and lamented that I would probably never be able to recreate it again.  I do wonder if it would be as good with ground beef as it was with ground buffalo.  It was very moist but still held it's shape pretty well.  I'll be happy to eat the leftovers tomorrow!