Can you cook fillet steak from frozen? Yes here’s how

How to cook steak from frozen. Have you ever thought of cooking a steak from frozen? It sounds like madness, doesn’t it? Sheer lunacy.

The results are better than if you THAW a steak before cooking and advise always cooking steak from frozen rather than de-frosting them (this obviously doesn’t apply to fresh beef that has never been near a freezer).

The team behind Food Republic carried out a scientific test by cooking thawed steaks and frozen steaks and then compared the difference.

That difference was that the cooked-from-frozen steaks had a slightly thinner grey/overcooked band between the crust and the interior.

Whether that grey crust is something that really grinds your gears is another matter.

Personally, I’ve never actually noticed a grey band and I’m sure that even if I had it wouldn’t have put my off my beefy treat.

Still, I’m all for trying out new ways to cook steak, so I gave the FR method a go.

If you have a couple of minutes, check out Food Republic’s video about their experiment here…

can you cook steak from frozen

I followed those steps to the letter:

1. Lay 2.5cm-thick fillet steaks on a sheet of baking parchment and place in the freezer uncovered. This prevents a crust of ice forming.

Can you cook fillet steak from frozen? Yes here’s how, Lay The Table

2. Once frozen (overnight), wrap the frozen steaks tightly in clingflim, then transfer to freezer bags.

3. When you’re ready to cook, pre-heat the oven to 135C. Fold a sheet of baking paper into a concertina and place on a baking sheet. This will prevent your steaks having direct contact with the surface.

Can you cook fillet steak from frozen? Yes here’s how, Lay The Table

4. Add sunflower or vegetable oil to a frying pan to a depth of 1cm.

5. Bring to a medium heat and add your steaks.

6. Cook the steaks for 90n seconds each side to form a crunchy crust.

Can you cook fillet steak from frozen? Yes here’s how, Lay The Table
Can you cook fillet steak from frozen? Yes here’s how, Lay The Table

7. Transfer the steaks to the concertinaed baking paper and put in the pre-heated oven.

Can you cook fillet steak from frozen? Yes here’s how, Lay The Table

8. Cook for 18-20 mins. The FR video advises using a temperature probe to check the internal temp of the heat has reached 51C (for medium-rare), but unfortunately I don’t have one.

Can you cook fillet steak from frozen? Yes here’s how, Lay The Table

9. Serve. In my case, I accompanied the steaks with mushrooms sautéed with whole cloves of confit garlic, and triple-cooked chips.

Can you cook fillet steak from frozen? Yes here’s how, Lay The Table

Verdict: My cooked-from-frozen steak was delicious: tender and warm throughout, with a sweet crunchy crust. However, it was no better and no worse than steaks I’ve thawed.

What it was, thought, was a hell of a lot more hassle, using more stages, obsessing about the internal temperature etc.

I prefer my steak to go from pan to plate, with a little rest on its journey, and the only argument I can see for using the from-frozen method is if you have a Meat Hunger so ravenous (and don’t have fresh or thawed steak to hand) that you simply HAVE to eat beef NOW (well, in 20 minutes or so!).

So, if you’re the sort who forgets to take their steak out of the freezer the night before, then the from-frozen method could be the answer for you.

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