Freezing your steaks is a great way to keep them fresh until you’re ready to make them, but drastic changes in temperature can easily ruin the meat’s taste and texture and promote the growth of harmful bacteria when it comes time to thaw them out. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can get your steaks from freezer to grill without compromising their quality. The best way to do this is to simply leave them overnight in the fridge.
1. Transfer the steaks from the freezer to the refrigerator.
- Remove your steaks from the freezer the day before you barbecue and find a place for them on one of your fridge ‘s central shelves. Don’t worry about unwrapping them—it’s perfectly fine to leave them the way they’re packaged.
- Moving the steaks from the freezer to the fridge will slowly allow them to thaw and maintain their natural juicy texture..
2. Let the steaks stay overnight. It will take 18-24 hours for most pieces of meat to reach the optimal cooking temperature. Thicker cuts can require much longer (in some cases up to 30 hours), as it takes them longer to thaw in the middle. Defrosting steaks is a very slow process in the refrigerator, but it should help them thaw more uniformly.
- Make a note of the exact time that you place your steaks in the refrigerator. A good rule of thumb is to throw them on the grill no earlier than 12 hours after the time you took them out of the freezer the previous day.
- Never allow your steaks to sit outside at room temperature. Doing so could give harmful bacteria an opportunity to move in.
3. Perform a touch test to see if the steaks have thawed enough. Once your steaks have been in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, take them out and give them a poke. They should be firm, yet have some give, with a cool external temperature and no visible icing 2 to 4 degree celcius.
May this knowledge help all of us in the future. Like we said in the previous episode, We care for your satisfaction. Stay tuned for the next episode about “How to Cook Wagyu Steak Like Master Chef” .
