Don't Forget These 2 Steps When Cooking Frozen Meatloaf

Freezer meatloaf is a hearty, convenient make-ahead meal for busy weeknights. Especially during cold weather months — when comfort food cravings kick in with gusto — pulling out a ready-to-bake meatloaf is a budget-friendly way to stock your freezer with nutritional, from-scratch food. However, the key to this meal's success is all about nailing cooking method. To avoid a dried-out exterior, turn to this failsafe two-step technique: First, wait until the meatloaf has almost finished thawing, then apply your ketchup or sauce before reheating it the rest of the way. 

Typically, when assembling a homemade meatloaf, the ground beef mixture is formed into a flat layer along the bottom of a loaf pan. Then, a layer of glaze is spread over the top, and the whole thing goes into the oven. Instead, when preparing a meatloaf specifically for the freezer, that ground beef, egg, tomato paste, breadcrumb, and diced veggie base mixture can be shaped together as normal. However, rather than baking and glazing it, simply wrap the uncooked, unglazed loaf mixture in a layer of plastic wrap, or press it into a flat layer in a freezer-safe zip-top bag. 

Thawing before glazing is the best way to revive frozen meatloaf, restoring those savory flavors to their freshly-baked glory. This two-step technique helps prevent the sauce from burning while the meat is still heating, keeping the moisture locked into the meat. Whenever you're ready to bake it, simply thaw the loaf, then brush the outside with a generous layer of sweet and tangy meatloaf glaze.

As raw ground beef thaws, it must be kept at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent the growth of bacteria. Even a defrosting meatloaf that's still frozen solid in the center could reach unsafe temperatures around its outer layers. To safely thaw a frozen meatloaf, transfer it into the refrigerator roughly 24 hours before you plan to bake it, or overnight. When dinnertime arrives, simply take the thawed meatloaf out of the fridge while the oven is preheating, press it into a loaf pan, then slather on the glaze before baking. It's ready to eat when the center of the meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

This two-step technique is the quick trick to upgrade your frozen meatloaf game. Uncooked meatloaf will retain its quality in the freezer for up to three months. Labelling that ready-to-bake loaf with its preparation date can help foodies know when it'll need to be used up. Pro tip: To ensure the moistest loaf, opt for lean beef. As the meatloaf cooks, all of that fat will drain out, leaving behind an oily mess and a dry loaf. Choose 90% lean ground beef as the best fit for the job, adjusting the amount of tomato sauce if the uncooked loaf seems dry.