The Case for Cooking Steak From Frozen

2. Freeze Your Steak Naked

When you freeze your steak for this method, you don't want to wrap it in plastic wrap or foil, because this will cause condensation, and that condensation will cause splatter when the steak finally hits the hot oil in the pan. So though it may seem odd, freeze your steaks completely unwrapped. This prevents condensation and also dries the steaks out, which will further help you in getting a perfect sear—just like an overnight rest unwrapped in the refrigerator helps dry out chicken skin and gets it extra crispy.

Once you freeze the steaks unwrapped overnight, you can seal them in a freezer bag with the air pressed out and keep it frozen for up to three months.

4. Use More Oil Than You Normally Would

Anna found that you need to use more oil in your cast-iron skillet than you might with an unfrozen steak: about 1/3 cup. This ensures that the hot oil reaches all the way up to the sides of the steak and browns every cranny of the steaks' surface.

5. Season the Steak After You Sear It

Another step that may seem counterintuitive is to season the steak after you've seared it, right before you pop it in the oven. This is simply because the salt and pepper won't adhere to the surface of the meat when it's frozen.

6. Monitor Your Temperature Obsessively

Once you've seared the steak in oil, you'll finish it in the oven at the low temperature of 275° F. This indirect heat will cook the middle of the steak. Since your steak is still frozen through the center, this is going to take a bit longer than you're accustomed to: around 45 minutes.

Don't leave anything to chance. Your best friend in this process is a thermometer. If perfect steak is your life's mission and you want to be ultra-precise, Robinson suggests a leave-in internal probe thermometer like this one, which will allow you to monitor the temperature of the steak progressively at every point. That said, any accurate instant-read thermometer will also work. Just make sure to check the temperature frequently, and pull the steak from the oven the second it reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees (the steak will come up in temperature a bit as it rests).

To get the full step-by-step instructions on how to cook your steak from frozen, follow Anna's recipe. Or, if you must, wait until the longer, lazier days of summer, when you have time to cook a steak from frozen—and you can do it on the grill.