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Whole30 Venison Freezer Meatloaf

  • Yield: 4 1x
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Chop up your onion and mince your garlic. Heat a skillet with the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until they’re lightly browned so about 6-7 minutes. I like cooked onions and garlic in my meatloaf, the flavor is richer and milder.
  2. Add the onions and garlic to a bowl along with the venison, egg, almond meal, Italian seasoning, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper. Mix well.
  3. Line a loaf pan with saran wrap, leaving about 8 inches of excess flowing over each side. Press the meat mixture into the loaf pan and wrap it well in the saran wrap. Place the formed meatloaf wrapped in saran wrap in a plastic bag. You can place the bagged meatloaf back in the loaf pan and pop it in the freezer. Once it freezes, in about 2-3 hours, remove the loaf pan and let the meatloaf sit in the freezer until you’re ready to make it (up to 3 months).
  4. When you’re ready to make the meatloaf, remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge; I recommend doing this overnight.
  5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  6. Remove the thawed meatloaf from the bag and plastic wrap and place it in a loaf pan lined with parchment. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
  7. While the meatloaf cooks place the pitted dates in a saucepan and cover them with water by an inch. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium, and reduce the heat to low and let them simmer for 10 minutes. Do not drain the dates, you need the cooking water for the tomato sauce.
  8. Add the dates to a blender with the date water, tomato paste, garlic powder, mustard powder and remaining salt. Blend until smooth. Keep the date water handy, add more if it looks too thick to you.
  9. Remove the meatloaf from the oven, spread on the tomato sauce and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the meatloaf is cooked through. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.