The proper cooking techniques can transform even a frozen steak into a mouthwatering masterpiece.
This guide compares how four methods measure up to our gold standard: a dry-brined and reverse-seared steak.
Choose the most compatible method with regards to your kitchen setup, desired cooking speed, and steak quality. No matter your choice, you’re still going to end up with a decent steak.
Table of Contents
Pan-Seared Frozen Steak (Fastest: 15-30 minutes)
Pan searing a steak is the fastest way to get a steak from your freezer to your dinner table. This method has three phases to bring out the best qualities of your steak as quickly as possible.
Searing on a pan can get the job done within half an hour if you give it your undivided attention. Additionally, it has the least requirements of the methods here.
However, the price for speed is a slightly lower quality steak. If you have an hour or more, you should skip this method and try the others.
Required Tools
- Pan (preferably heavy-duty or cast-iron)
Recommended/Optional Tools
- Instant-read food thermometer
Pan-Seared Frozen Steak Instructions
- Low Heat Cooking
- Place pan over low/medium heat.
- Season your pan with salt.
- Place the steak on either side of the pan (left or right).
- Flip the steak over to the opposite side of the salted pan every 30 seconds.
- Remove the steak once it reaches your desired doneness.
- Rest
- Rest the steak and let it cool by 10-20°F.
- Pat the steak dry and reapply salt if needed.
- Sear
- Place pan over high heat to get it blistering hot.
- Sear steak on each side for a deep, flavorful crust.
- Add spices right before searing is complete or baste with butter/spices afterward.
*Note: Start on step 3a for thin cuts and make sure to rest the steak after searing.
Pan Seared Steak Results
The pan-sear method can cook steak extremely quickly, which can be a good and bad thing.
It has the same, flavorful crust as a reverse seared steak. However, a short rest time gives the meat poor flavor distribution.
To develop an even flavor profile, you must [term]dry brine[/term] the meat. Not only does dry brining result in a more flavorful steak, but also makes it juicier and more tender.
If you didn’t already salt your steak before freezing it, you’ll have to resort to one of the other methods (which take more time).
Pseudo-Sous Vide Frozen Steak (Fast: 45-60 minutes)
If you have a bit more time to cook a thick steak, the “pseudo-sous vide” method marginally improves steak quality.
This method requires submerging a sealed steak with salt in a water bath, giving it time for a short dry brine. Unlike a regular sous vide bath, this method only warms (rather than cooks) the steak.
If you can spare at least 90 minutes, you can skip this step to cook an even more exceptional steak.
Required Tools
- Pan (preferably heavy-duty or cast-iron)
- Air-tight, resealable plastic bag
- Container to submerge steak bag(s)
Recommended/Optional Tools
- Instant-read food thermometer
- Wired or remote food thermometer (optional)
- Immersion circulator
Pseudo-Sous Vide Frozen Steak Instructions
- Dry Brine
- Fill a container with warm water.
- Season steak with salt (required) and spices (optional).
- Place steak an unsealed plastic bag.
- Lower the bag into container without letting water get into the bag.
- Push out as much air as possible before sealing the bag.
- Rest the meat for a recommended minimum of 30 minutes in warm water.
- Replace warm water every 10 minutes if it cools down significantly.
- Low Heat Cooking
- Place pan over low/medium heat.
- Place the steak on either side of the pan (left or right).
- Flip the steak over to the opposite side of the salted pan every 30 seconds.
- Remove the steak once it reaches your desired doneness.
- Rest
- Rest the steak and let it cool by 10-20°F.
- Pat the steak dry and reapply salt if needed.
- Sear
- Place pan over high heat to get it blistering hot.
- Sear steak on each side for a deep, flavorful crust.
- Add spices right before searing is complete or baste with butter/spices afterward.
Pseudo Sous Vide Steak Results
The pseudo sous vide method will undoubtedly cook up a tasty steak. Submerging in a water bath allows the steak to dry brine for better flavor distribution, tenderness, and juiciness.
However, 30 minutes in a warm water bath won’t dry brine the steak completely, especially when starting from frozen. Additionally, the tenderizing enzymes won’t have enough time to make your meat melt like butter.
Make no mistake: a pseudo sous vide steak is far better than throwing a frozen steak onto a hot pan. But you can achieve better results if you have more time.
Reverse Seared Frozen Steak (Slow: 1.5-3 Hours)
The reverse sear method is our gold standard for steaks (even frozen). This method gives you excellent results every time if you do it properly.
The slow cook time gives steak time to dry brine faster and tenderizing enzymes to work on your meat. It also dries the exterior for a better crust and less overcooking.
It does require a bit more babysitting to check up on the steak every so often. However, a remote food thermometer eliminates the need to check, as it’ll notify you when the steak is ready.
Otherwise, you can skip this step for a ‘set it and forget it’ method. It’ll take more time but produces a nearly equivalent steak to our gold standard.
Required Tools
- Oven
- Wire rack and drip pan
- Pan (preferably heavy-duty or cast-iron)
Recommended/Optional Tools
- Instant-read food thermometer
- Wired or remote food thermometer (optional)
Reverse-Seared Frozen Steak Instructions
- Bake
- Preheat oven to 250-350°F.
- Salt both sides of the steak.
- Place steak on a wire rack in a drip pan.
- Optional: Insert a wired or remote food thermometer into the deepest part of the meat.
- Remove the steak once it reaches your desired doneness.
- Rest
- Rest the steak and let it cool by 10-20°F.
- Pat the steak dry and reapply salt if needed.
- Sear
- Place pan over high heat to get it blistering hot.
- Sear steak on each side for a deep, flavorful crust.
- Add spices right before searing is complete or baste with butter/spices afterward.
Reverse-Seared Steak Results
The reverse sear method will simultaneously thaw, dry brine, tenderize, and cook your steak. It also dries the exterior for increased [term]Maillard reaction[/term] potential to create a flavorful, seared crust.
For such a simple method, there’s not much more we can ask for. However, if you truly don’t want to babysit your steak and have time and money to spare, then move on to our final method.
Sous Vide Frozen Steak (Slowest: 2-4 Hours)
Sous vide is the most efficient method to cook a frozen steak OR defrosted one. It can cook and thaw with just one step and requires no babysitting!
It’s also impossible to overcook with the right settings on your immersion circulator!
But if you’re short on time, these methods can help you cook a frozen steak substantially faster (at slightly lower quality):
- Pan-seared frozen steak (faster)
- Water-bath frozen steak (fast)
You can also achieve nearly identical results faster with this method:
- Reverse sear frozen steak (slow)
Required Tools
- Immersion circulator
- Sous vide bag (or air-tight, resealable plastic bag)
- Container large enough to submerge steak bag(s)
- Pan (preferably heavy-duty or cast-iron)
Recommended/Optional Tools
• Instant-read food thermometer
Sous Vide Frozen Steak Instructions
- Preparation
- Fill a container with water.
- Season steak with salt (required) and whole spices (optional).
- Place steak in a vacuum sealed sous vide bag or resealable plastic bag.
- For sous vide bag, proceed to step 2.
- For resealable bag, proceed to step 1f.
- Lower the bag into container without letting water get into the bag.
- Push out as much air as possible before sealing the bag.
- Sous Vide
- Setup immersion circulator according to your desired steak doneness temperature.
- Submerge steak bag into water.
- Remove steak at any time after it reaches water temperature.
- Rest
- Rest the steak and let it cool by 10-20°F.
- Pat the steak dry.
- Sear
- Place pan over high heat to get it blistering hot.
- Sear steak on each side for a deep, flavorful crust.
Sous Vide Steak Results
The sous vide method will simultaneously thaw, dry brine, tenderize, and cook your steak. The only shortcoming is that it traps moisture on the steak’s surface, making it slightly harder to sear.
However, it may be worth it to those who want a hassle-free method to cook steak. Otherwise, the reverse sear method will produce nearly identical results.
Comparing All Frozen Steak Cooking Methods
There are advantages and disadvantages to each frozen steak cooking method. But ultimately, time is the major contributor to how well each steak turns out.
As a general rule of thumb, you can cook a better steak with more time. Steaks need time to thaw, develop flavor, tenderize, and cook.
Here’s how each cooking method changes the final quality of the steak.
| Quality | Pan-Sear | Pseudo-Sous Vide | Reverse-Sear (Frozen) | Sous Vide | Reverse-Sear (Dry-brined) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flavor | 2.5 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Evenly cooked | 3 | 3.5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Crust | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Juiciness | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Texture | 3 | 3.5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Tenderness | 3.5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Ease | 1 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 |
| Speed | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
You can also elevate your steak quality by defrosting and dry brining your steak in the fridge before cooking.
How to Defrost Steak in the Fridge
If you have the time, defrosting your steak before cooking is the ideal, but most time-consuming method. Depending on its thickness, it can take days!
Therefore, it’s better to start defrosting at least a day in advance and check on the thawing progress well before you need to cook it.
However, the good thing is that you can simultaneously thaw and dry-brine steak in the fridge. It’ll dry the exterior well and increase how well the steak browns later on.
Conclusion
Cooking frozen steak is a matter of bringing it to the desired temperature as fast as possible without diminishing its quality. It can be simple but requires extra care to bring out the full potential of your steak.
Although a longer cook time can improve steak quality, you may not always have the time to spare.
Therefore, understanding how to make the most of your time is essential to cooking up a decent steak.
Feel free to use the tried-and-true methods above, or experiment and play around with them! You never know what unexpected (and potentially better) results you might get.
