Basque Pork Meatloaf

Brought this one on a recent trip. So good!

Meatloaf. It is so good and so easy. I love it so much in fact that I have a book called Everybody Loves Meatloaf. Check it out, it's a good one. It's not Paleo, therefore all the recipes have breadcrumbs in them, but I've discovered that if you just leave them out, it turns out fine, and all that happens is you get a lot of meat juice left over in the pan. Which is actually awesome because I just save it and cook a pot of greens in it, and they usually end up being just as delicious as the meatloaf, if not better. I've also discovered that meatloaf works as a dehydrated meal! So exciting! This recipe is adapted from Everybody Loves Meatloaf  by Melanie Barnard. Drain off the excess fat before you dehydrate it since fat hinders the drying process (unfortunately). You can always add more fat in after you rehydrate.

1/2 lb. smoked ham
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 cup green or black olives, pitted and sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB tomato paste
1 TB dry sherry
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. grated orange peel
2 eggs
1 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers

Dinnertime in the backcountry - rehydrating some meatloaf. 

Heat oven to 350F. Chop ham, then process in food processor until finely chopped.

In a large bowl, combine and mix pork, olives, onion, garlic, tomato paste, sherry, paprika, orange peel, eggs, roasted red bell peppers, and ham.

Press mixture into a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Bake until the meatloaf is firm and a meat thermometer inserted into the middle reads 155 degrees. This takes about 1 hour.

After it cools, crumble it and spread it as thinly as possible on dehydrator trays.

Dehydrate at 155 (the meat setting on some dehydrators) for 6-8 hours, checking at the 6 hour mark and leaving it in for as long as needed to feel dry and brittle. Because of the fat content it will probably still be a little shiny and possibly "wet," but get it as dry as you can. I don't think you can really over dry meals.