How to Cook a Frozen Steak (Without Thawing First)

Reverse searing is my preferred way of cooking a frozen-solid steak; no thawing required. Thanks to Skillshare for Sponsoring this video! Get two months of Skillshare Premium for FREE by using my link:

Thanks again to Berry College student Andrew Roell for those steaks. More on the Berry beef program: /

Nathan Myhrvold's frozen steak recipe (blowtorch optional):

America's Test Kitchen recipe for frozen steak, with special freezing method to minimize ice crystals on the surface:

Pamphlet from Penn State (my alma mater!) about how color temperature affects the appearance of meat:

Procedure for my steak:

Preheat your oven to its lowest temperature, which will probably be 170-200 F. (There's a chance your oven might have a plate-warming or proofing setting that's even lower. I'm not sure if you should use that; it might be too cool. Let's say 170 minimum.)

I think this works best with thick steaks — about an inch. Take them out of the freezer, unwrap them, and put them on a rack over a baking sheet. Put the whole rig in the oven until the internal temperature of the steak is 10-15 F less than your desired final temperature. I pull mine at 115 F. This could take 1-3 hours depending on your oven and the thickness of the steak.

Put a neutral oil in a pan and heat it until smoking. Season the steaks with salt and pepper, and sear them in the pan just until the exterior is brown — about a minute on each side. In the last 30 seconds, I put in some butter, a couple garlic cloves and a stick of rosemary, and baste the steak with the infused butter.

Rest and serve as you normally would.