The great steak experiment

[Shuley]

So I got to wondering about freezing and thawing steaks. I was wondering what freezing would do to the final texture of steak. Ckreef remarked something about how he doubted a person would be able to tell the difference even if they were side by side. So I decided I needed to know. This would have great application for me as I only like to grocery shop once a week but usually cook fish first out of my groceries- or if I found a good sale I could stock up if I found the texture to still be good enough. So I picked up two similar rib eyes. I seasoned both heavily and vacuum sealed them both i wanted to make sure they were a similar as possible in their preparationone went in the freezer one went in the meat drawer in the fridge. I waited more than 36 hours, and the frozen meat was definitely rock hard. Then I moved it to the meat drawer to slowly defrost (I had one bag labeled so that's what the weird black mark was)then a could days later I pulled them out and they were ready for a reverse sear flipped every ten minutes or so since that is what Kenji recommends and every one of his recipes I have tried is AMAZING . Now it is time to sear! Action shot! this is where the difference started to emerge. as you can see, the steak closer to the camera started to kind of break into pieces. This is the one that was frozen. resting for ten minutes. And slicingabove not frozen. Below previously frozen and side by sidevirtually indistinguishable. My husband though the lighting made them appear more done than they were so here is from the dining room mid dinner

 

In terms of texture and/or flavor, neither of us could maker a preference, meaning I will definitely be freezing steaks on sale. The only disadvantage is that the steaks don't keep their shape quite as well which doesn't really matter. This happened again when I later bought two more steaks which were sealed and frozen before cooking. Overall, a fun and useful experiment

[Aussie Ora]

Nice experiment I have no problem with frozen meat it's just remembering it's there lol and have come home to not thawed completely meat .my butcher is just around the corner and we are mates .

 

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[Pequod]

Great steak indeed!

[ckreef]

Great experiment. Now when some decent steaks are on sale you can take advantage of the sale. Whenever possible get the butcher to fresh cut your steaks instead of buying the precut packages. You never know how long those precut packages have been sitting in the counter. Or even the precut steaks sitting in the "fresh" counter. How long were they in the "fresh" counter? 

Edited April 1, 2017 by ckreef

[5698k]

I'm not sure freezing had anything to do with shape. I've cooked an entire sliced ribeye before, with several shape variations throughout.


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[Bruce Pearson]

Nice  experiment. Those are great pictures of steak and now my mouth is watering I guess we'll have to try and cook some steaks tonight 

[Stile88]

nice experiment steak looks so delicious

[CeramicChef]

@Shuley - beautiful steaks.  Very nicely done!

I was raised on frozen meat of every kind.  My Mom would stock up on sale meat and put it in the freezer for later use.  She also never used a vacuum sealer and we never had to worry about freezer burn.  I believe freezer burn is mostly due to long(er) term storage issues.   Most of the poultry you see in stores has been frozen unless it states that it is fresh, never frozen.  

I buy and freeze meat all the time.  I've no problems with eating frozen meat whatsoever.  Frankly, I can't tell any difference.

[Steve M]

It looks like one of them has a more pronounced fat band through the middle. I wonder if that had something to do with how it held up.

I think the vast majority of steaks I cook have been frozen first. All of the wagyu I buy comes that way and they are off the charts good.

[tony b]

10 hours ago, Aussie Ora said:

Nice experiment I have no problem with frozen meat it's just remembering it's there lol and have come home to not thawed completely meat

I've done the experiment where you take the steak out of the freezer, lightly oil it, season it, then toss onto the KK. Works great and no need to remember to thaw it out first!

[Shuley]

I've done the experiment where you take the steak out of the freezer, lightly oil it, season it, then toss onto the KK. Works great and no need to remember to thaw it out first!

What is the general temp and timing to this method? I will definitely have to try that

[Bruce Pearson]

Yum that looks good

[tony b]

@Shuley - I only do this with fairly thick steaks (> 1 1/2") to start with. If you use the lower grate*, as in my pictures, I was flipping it about every 5 minutes to start with, and as it began to soften in the middle (i.e., thaw), I dropped down to about every minute. Once the outside begins to look like I want it, then I check the internal temp. I likely med rare, so I shoot for 125F, with a 10 minute rest for a final IT of 130F. If the outside begins to get too dark before you hit your target IT, then you can move the steak off to the side and roast it indirectly until target (a great benefit to having the split basket). If you don't have the split basket, move the steak off the lower grate to the main grate to slow down the cooking. 

* I wouldn't try this with the sear grate. You'll burn the outside way before you thaw the middle; unless of course you like "black & blue." If you use the main grate, I'd start out at 10 mins per side, then drop down to 2 minutes.

[Shuley]

[mention=2701]Shuley[/mention] - I only do this with fairly thick steaks (> 1 1/2") to start with. If you use the lower grate*, as in my pictures, I was flipping it about every 5 minutes to start with, and as it began to soften in the middle (i.e., thaw), I dropped down to about every minute. Once the outside begins to look like I want it, then I check the internal temp. I likely med rare, so I shoot for 125F, with a 10 minute rest for a final IT of 130F. If the outside begins to get too dark before you hit your target IT, then you can move the steak off to the side and roast it indirectly until target (a great benefit to having the split basket). If you don't have the split basket, move the steak off the lower grate to the main grate to slow down the cooking. 
* I wouldn't try this with the sear grate. You'll burn the outside way before you thaw the middle; unless of course you like "black & blue." If you use the main grate, I'd start out at 10 mins per side, then drop down to 2 minutes.

I'm a little confused. What is the difference between the lower grate and sear grate? This looks great! Thanks!

[tinyfish]

Thanks for the information on fresh and frozen steaks.

[tony b]

13 hours ago, Shuley said:

I'm a little confused. What is the difference between the lower grate and sear grate? This looks great! Thanks!

The sear grate is the upper grate (the one with legs) turned upside down and place directly on top of the charcoal basket handles. The lower grate is the one with the opening at the front and has it's own ledge in the side wall and sits a few inches above the charcoal basket. 

[Bruce Pearson]

Learn something new every day

[Paul]

Nice comparison. I've never noticed a difference between fresh and frozen steaks. The only thing I was ever taught about freezing meat was to only freeze it once. Meaning don't defrost it and change your mind and freeze it again.

What CC said about poultry also goes for fish. Most is packed on ice (frozen) on the ship.

[ckreef]

57 minutes ago, Paul said:

 

What CC said about poultry also goes for fish. Most is packed on ice (frozen) on the ship.

That is so true about the grocery store seafood counter, especially shrimp. Almost all of it is put out in the morning still frozen. That's fine if you're going to take it home and cook it that evening. Otherwise you're better off asking for some still frozen from the back freezers. 

 

 

[Aussie Ora]

That is so true about the grocery store seafood counter, especially shrimp. Almost all of it is put out in the morning still frozen. That's fine if you're going to take it home and cook it that evening. Otherwise you're better off asking for some still frozen from the back freezers. 

 

 

I buy my seafood fresh if I'm eating it that day but also get a bag off U15 prawns and what ever I want frozen they come of the boats that way years ago I worked on prawn trawlers out of Darwin north west Australia catch freeze send our best stuff over seas what the boats catch you don't see that in the shops cooking up fresh prawns or Morten bay bugs out at sea was the best taste I can't repeat it at home great experience

 

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