There are many cooking techniques you can use to prepare a meal. One of these methods is sous vide. By cooking meat sous vide you have more control over the cooking time and how the food turns out.
But what happens if you forget to defrost the meat and still want to cook it using this method?
You may be wondering, can you sous vide frozen meat without defrosting it first? Yes, you can cook frozen meat or frozen steak sous vide.
Not only is it possible, but you will love creating healthy meals this way. It’s super easy to cook frozen meat sous vide, and you’ll get the same results as if you were cooking a fresh piece of meat.
Continue reading more to find out everything you need to know about using the sous vide method to cook frozen meat.
The Sous Vide Method for Frozen Meat
Usually, when preparing to cook meat, you take it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge overnight to allow it to defrost. But how would you like it if you could cook your piece of meat straight from the freezer without defrosting it?
Cooking frozen meat using the traditional method of placing it in a frying pan isn’t ideal – but you can cook frozen meat with a sous vide machine.
Using the sous vide method for cooking frozen meat is by far the most convenient – it allows you to cook frozen steaks or any kind of frozen meat to perfection every time.
Our step-by-step guide on how to cook frozen meat sous vide will show you how to do this. But first, let’s take a look at some factors about cooking this way.
Why Use Sous Vide to Cook Frozen Meat?
By using the sous vide method to cook frozen meat, you’ll enjoy a perfectly cooked piece of meat with the same internal temperature throughout. After placing the meat in a vacuum-sealed bag, you put it in a pan of simmering hot water set at a precise temperature.
Will the Meat Taste and Texture Be Different?
When cooking frozen meat using the water bath method, you will find it doesn´t alter its taste or texture.
What Kinds of Frozen Meat Can Be Cooked Sous Vide?
Not only can you sous vide frozen meat, but you can also sous vide various types of frozen meat. When cooking with an immersion circulator, you can cook everything from sirloin to rib-eye, to fillet mignon, to t-bone or flat iron steak.
But to enjoy a perfectly cooked piece of meat using the water bath method, you must prepare it first.
How to Freeze and Store Meat for Sous Vide
After bringing home fresh meat, season it with salt and pepper, or any other marinade you like.
Take each piece of meat and place it inside a zip-lock bag. Ensure that the cuts of steak are in a single layer and not on top of each other before vacuum sealing the bag.
After removing all the air, place the bag with the fresh steaks or pork chops in the freezer. Make sure to lay the ribeye, flank, or T-bone steaks in a single layer flat in the freezer. This will ensure that your raw meat doesn’t get freezer burn.
Once your meat is fully frozen, simply drop the bag straight into the sous vide machine without carrying out any other meal prep beforehand.
How to Cook Frozen Meat in a Sous Vide Machine
Preheat the sous vide device to the required temperature at which you would like your meat cooked, whether it is rare, medium, medium-well, or well-done.
The following guide should help you to cook your frozen meat to the right level depending on how you like to enjoy it:
Cooking Temperatures for Frozen Meat
- Rare – 52 degrees Centigrade (125 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Medium Rare – 57 degrees Centigrade (135 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Medium – 60 degrees Centigrade (140 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Medium to Well Done – 66 degrees Centigrade (150 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Well-Done – 71 degrees Centigrade (160 degrees Fahrenheit)
Once the appliance has reached the desired temperature, place the bag in which the meat was vacuum-sealed into the hot water bath.
Now leave the meat in the sous vide water bath until it is cooked to the temperature you like.
How Long Should You Cook Frozen Meat Sous Vide?
It’s best to cook frozen meat in a water bath for an additional 30 minutes.
For example, if you are cooking a piece of frozen sirloin steak using the sous vide method, it will take about 90 minutes for it to cook.
It will take more time to cook tougher cuts of frozen meat. For example, a round-eye steak will take between 6 and 8 hours to cook sous vide. This is the minimum amount of time it would take to cook a frozen steak using the sous-vide cooking method.
Is It Safe to Cook Frozen Meat Using Sous Vide Cooking Techniques?
Yes, it is safe to cook frozen meat using sous vide techniques. Not only does this method reduce the risk of cross-contamination, but it also ensures that the juicy steaks you eat are of the best quality.
Also, cooking steak slowly and gently in a pot of water helps kill any pathogens that can be detrimental to your health.
Also, since the frozen meat will be cooked at the correct temperature, the risk of you suffering from any food-borne illnesses is significantly reduced compared to traditional methods of cooking the perfect steak.
Why Cooking Frozen Meat This Way Works
Cooking frozen meat sous vide works because the water bath temperature doesn’t change, so it ensures that the meat being cooked remains at a consistent temperature.
This helps to reduce any risk of you over-cooking the meat. This may not be true when you try out specific steak recipes using a hot skillet.
Conclusion
We hope that we have provided you with the information you were looking for in answer to your question, ¨can you sous vide frozen meat?¨
If we have, and you have sous vide appliance, then why not give this method of cooking a beautiful piece of meat or perfect steak a try?
Just don´t forget to ensure that you follow our guidelines to ensure that you cook the frozen piece of meat correctly.
If you now have a go at trying to sous vide a piece of frozen meat, let us know how you get on.
Check out more handy kitchen and cooking advice here.
