How to Cook Frozen Steaks

An America's Test Kitchen Recipe

This recipe's for Procrastinators and the Spontaneous. Want to cook a steak, like ASAP? Just pull a steak or two from the freezer and an hour later, you'll sit down to perfectly cooked steaks. No thawing needed!
But this recipe's also for Picky Planners. Because cooking steaks from their frozen state yields the perfect steak – seared on the outside, evenly cooked all the way to the center.
Intrigued? Read on! This is effortless cooking with fine, fine results. These steaks? It's like you've pampered good meat for hours.

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Who Dreams About Recipes?

This one came to me in the middle of the night. Well, sort of.

I wasn't really dreaming, I was falling asleep to the dulcet tones of Christopher Kimball's voice, listening to the America's Test Kitchen podcast. So much information, so many tips! If you're a podcast fan and a cook, this podcast definitely belongs on your playlist.

But back to that "dream," the one about pulling a steak straight from the freezer, searing it, then putting it into a low oven to finish.

Steaks Cooked Straight from the Freezer!

For a year now, it's been our go-to method for cooking steaks on the fly. Just Friday, after a long, long week, we were on our way out to dinner.

Instead? I pulled steaks from the freezer, warmed up some Slow Cooker Grits made earlier in the day and fixed a green salad with tomatoes from the garden.

With a bottle of wine? It was the best "free meal" ever – and it didn't hurt that St. Louis' beloved Cardinals beat the Cubbies!

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QUICK SUPPER: FROZEN STEAKS

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: less than an hour
Makes 1 - 2 steaks

STEAKS
• Butter
• Your favorite steak seasoning or meat rub
• 1 or 2 steaks, preferably t-bones

SKILLET VEGETABLES, OPTIONAL
• Zucchini, cut in fat half moons
• Red pepper, cut in large pieces
• Small onion, cut in large pieces

Heat oven to 275F/130C.

STEAKS, START on the STOVE Place a pat of butter, just a tablespoon or two, into a cast-iron skillet. Turn the fire onto medium-high, slosh the butter across the skillet. Liberally sprinkle the skillet's surface with seasoning. Add the steak, let sear without moving for a minute or two. Sprinkle seasoning on the top side, then flip and sear the other side.

STEAKS, MOVE to the OVEN Insert a digital thermometer into the thickest area of the steak, avoiding the bones. (If need be, it's easier to insert the probe after the steaks have been in the oven a few minutes.) Cook the steaks to your desired temperature, we like them quite rare so cook to 140F/60C, it takes about 35 - 45 minutes.

WHILE THE STEAKS COOK This is such a relaxed technique for cooking steaks! There's plenty of time to prep some vegetables, make a salad, set the table or you know, just sip a glass of wine while the oven does all the work.

SKILLET VEGETABLES, BACK to the STOVE Move the cooked steaks onto warm plates, cover with foil to keep warm. Drop vegetables into the buttery, salty, steaky juices in the hot skillet and quickly sauté on the stovetop at high temperature until just done and still quite crisp.

ALANNA's TIPS If you like, prep the frozen steaks just a little: slice off obvious fat and whack the frozen surface with the knife blade, roughing it up a bit. Why "season" the skillet instead of the meat itself? Because the spices don't adhere well to frozen meat. Word to the wise. This technique works best for one or two steaks, you want to avoid crowding the meat in the skillet. With two steaks, be sure to check each one for doneness, one can take longer than the other. Because Frozen Steaks are cooked at low temperature, the cooking is slow and even. No need for a rest period!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Assumes 4 ounces t-bone (meat only) cooked in 1/2 tablespoon butter, a whole steak would obviously be more. Per serving: 303 Calories; 21g Tot Fat; 11g Sat Fat; 79mg Cholesterol; 101mg Sodium; 1g Carb; 0g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 22g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 8 & PointsPlus 7 & SmartPoints 10 & Freestyle 10.

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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