Cook better steaks by starting frozen

“So she buys instant cakes and bakes frozen steaks” are the lyrics that have been rattling in my head for about 30 years. i think i’ve heardNow, I’m going to touch on two topics I talk about a lot. Convenience food and the terror of the nuclear family. (The former helps to partially alleviate the suffering caused by the latter.)

While nothing can keep housewives in their late 50s away from Valium, baking mixes and the invention of the freezer are two things that have helped housewives cut labor and costs. But you have to be a little more careful when working with meat. This is where freezing (obviously) comes into play.

Steaks cooked from frozen won’t taste as good as steaks cooked right after the cow is slaughtered, but they will still taste the same. cute Especially if you skip thawing and cook directly from frozen. But before we get into cooking, let’s talk about freezing.

The correct way to freeze steak

Start by freezing them individually, then place the steaks on a sheet pan to avoid touching them before placing them in the freezer overnight. cook illustration, This will help drive out the moisture. This means less splatter when cooking steaks (and keeps them from sticking together in the bag).

Wrap each in plastic wrap or vacuum seal if you have the technique, then place the wrapped steaks in a freezer bag and label the bag with the date (frog tape Helps prevent markings from freezing). A steak can be kept in the freezer from 4 months to he year, depending on the temperature of the freezer and how “cycled” it is.

How to cook frozen steak without thawing.

The good news: There’s no need to thaw frozen steaks before cooking unless you have a marinade you really want to use. In fact, Cook’s Illustrated found that: No Thawing actually resulted in more evenly cooked pieces of meat. Moisture loss was measured before and after cooking, and cross-sections were visually inspected. Unthawed steaks retained more moisture during cooking and had fewer “grey bands” around them. , the inside will not overheat.

Frozen steaks are so cold that a browning reaction can occur where the surface becomes very hot before the inside gets too hot. Regarding the difference in water loss, we know that muscle fibers begin to squeeze out a significant amount of water when meat is cooked at temperatures above 140 degrees. The thawed steak was probably overcooked around the edges, as indicated by the slightly thicker gray band, and therefore lost more moisture.

Cooking a frozen steak requires two sources of heat: direct heat and indirect heat. If cooking indoors, use stoves and ovens. If cooking outside, set up a direct heating zone (over hot coals or flames) and an indirect heating zone (side without coals or lit burners).

Start by searing the steak. For indoor cooking, Cook’s Illustrated recommends adding 1/8 inch of his neutral oil to the pan and heating until shimmering. Cook one side of the steak until browned for about 90 seconds, then transfer to a 275°F oven and cook medium-rare to his 125°F in the center on an instant-read thermometer. (Add salt immediately after defrosting. Frozen steak does not stick to salt easily, so salt just enough to melt the frost and moisten the surface.)

The procedure for grilling is fairly similar. Grill over charcoal or flame until skin is clean, transfer to charcoal or flameless side, close grill and cook until reaching 125 degrees Fahrenheit with an instant-read thermometer. Unlike the ill-fated meat in Stone’s Bangers, the steak will not overcook.)