Perhaps you’re thinking if it is possible to grill frozen steak. Yes, it’s possible even without thawing that piece of frozen meat. If you’re curious how to do it, read on.
Required Tools and Supplies
As soon as you think about grilling a frozen steak, the first thing to do is to gather the necessary tools and supplies that will be needed including the following:
- Grill, either gas or charcoal
- Charcoal, briquette or lump. If you will use the gas grill, see to it to fill it with propane
- Kosher salt and black pepper
How to Prepare your Grill
While you’re preparing the steak you can set the fire. You can heat up the charcoal in a chimney before putting them on the grill. The advantage of heating up the charcoal in a chimney is that there’s no need to use the lighter fluid that can give an off taste to the meat.
Divide the grill and the charcoal in such a way that one side can be used for direct heat, while the other side for indirect heat contact.
How to Select the Best Steak
There are several factors to consider in selecting the best steak to grill. Mainly, the cut of the meat greatly affects the result.
You can consider a rib eye cut that can give you the best marbling result. This cut will also make the meat flavorful because of the fat in the meat. When you grill a steak, there should have more fat in it to obtain a higher grade.
Aside from the cut of the meat, another thing to consider is the brand. The Wagyu or Kobe beef is popular for its marbling and comes from Japanese-bred cattle. Another one is the Angus beef in which the cattle are raised from the ranches in the United States. The Wagyu is expensive while the Angus brands are a little bit cheaper.
You should also consider how the cattle were raised. Is it grain fed, grass fed, or open pasture? If you want a more consistent flavor, you should choose the grain-fed beef. On the other hand, a grass-fed may also provide more flavors, but may differ from one day to another and also depends on the fat content.
So, if you’re trying to grill frozen steak, you should choose the grain-fed beef to achieve more consistent flavors.
Lastly, the result of your frozen steak may vary depending on the grade of the beef. If you will buy from markets, you will notice that the grades include the following:
- Choice– This grade has more fat, but less marbling. It shows coarse texture and is cheaper than the Prime grade.
- Prime– This is the superior grade among the three categories. Prime meat is juicier, great marbling, and flavorful. As compared to other grades, this one is more expensive, but it all worth the cost.
- Select– If you want a leaner meat, you should choose the Select grade. It has little marbling, but it is tougher and the cheapest.
How to Prepare Your Frozen Steak
In preparing the frozen steak, the first thing to do is to freeze the meat. Lay the meat on a heavy cookie sheet and place it in the freezer.
Freezing the meat can benefit you in two ways. Keeping it flat in the freezer makes it ideal for grilling. Likewise, if the meat is frozen there is less moisture and splattering is also lesser.
Place the meat in a ziplock freezer bag and let it freeze. Remove it from the freezer once you’re ready to grill.
How to Grill Frozen Steak
The coals on fire and the grill are ready. To achieve even smoking, make sure that the direct heat temperature is 500° or above, while the indirect heat is 350°.
Before placing the frozen steak on the grill, put a tin foil with the shiny side facing down on the grill for a minute. Remove it using a tong and brush your grill.
Place the frozen meat on the direct heat side of the grill. Turn the steak to its other side every after seven minutes of grilling. Continue cooking by flipping on the other side for another five minutes.
The internal temperature must be between 75° to 90°. It’s important to maintain the required internal temperature to achieve a beautiful crust. Check the internal temperature by using a thermometer.
Take the half-cooked meat off the grill and apply the seasoning (the mixture of kosher salt and pepper). Place again the meat on the grill but now on the indirect heat side and let it cook for 10 minutes. It is ideal to season the meat after searing otherwise the pepper will burn giving it an off flavor.
How Do You Like Your Steak?
The taste of every person varies from one another. How would you determine if the meat is cooked “medium”, “rare”, or “well done”?
To determine the accuracy of doneness of your frozen steak, you should use a thermometer so that you will know the internal temperature. The temperature varies as follows:
- Rare – 115° to 120°
- Medium-rare – 120° to 125°
- Medium – 130° to 135°
- Medium-well – 140° to 145°
- Well done – 150° or above
Serving and Final Thoughts
After achieving the desired doneness, take the meat off the heat and cover it loosely. Let set it for at least five minutes allowing the juices to stop flowing. Do not cut the meat as soon as you remove it from heat otherwise it will dry out quicker.
Prior to serving the steak, you may consider adding sautéed garlic and string beans, fried potatoes, grilled mushrooms, and onions. It is best to serve with unsweetened iced tea, brown ale, a nice Pinot Noir, or just a glass of ice water.
Grilling frozen steak can be intimidating, but it also offers some benefits. Less moisture is lost in grilling a frozen steak than a thawed steak. With this, there’s less possibility to overcook the meat.