plllog, you might trythis technique. I tried it once about the time the article was published (2013). My recollection is that it worked well. I have not tried it again since we generally do not cook steaks at home. We go out when we want a steak.

Really??? I often eat a steak that has been frozen. Perhaps he doesn't know how to cook it. Mushy??? Really?? In my experience just the opposite is true....freezing breaks down the tissue a bit and causes the meat to lose moisture....creating just the opposite of "mushy".

Hmmm. I seldom eat a steak that has NOT been frozen, as we put entire animals into the freezer yearly. So, why should the steak not have been frozen?

Annie

I have no idea what a New York steak is, but I'm supposing it's just a steak. Beef freezes fine. Why would it go mushy?

Home freezers break down the tissues, as Linda said. And this was a very expensive steak. IC, I disagree with the statement that beef freezes well if you're talking about a raw steak in a home freezer. Flash freezing at the packing house is a different story. Perhaps "mushy" was the wrong adjective. It's not nice anymore.

IC, it's probably not going to help you if I say that a New York is a Delmonico without the bone, which is what I was told as a child. This is how Wikipedia defines the Delmonico: Bone-in top loin steak:
(a triangular-shaped, short loin cut, some suggesting the first cut of
the top loin next to the rib end) also known as a club steak, country
club steak, shell steak, and strip loin steak). So the New York is the same thing without the bone. There are many references to the New York being called "strip steak", but while I've heard the term, it doesn't mean anything to me. (I'm not a steak eater, so my knowledge is from childhood when my mother bought beef by the side (flash frozen, whereby I know the difference).)

Thanks for the link, Bbstx. The thirty minutes in the freezer isn't the same thing. These folks would never eat a fried or buttered steak. They're looking for some way of hiding the fact that it isn't up to their usual standards.

I mean, it would probably be great in tacos, but I was hoping for something a bit more elegant. :)

New York strips are bone in or boneless. I freeze them all the time. Always have done so.

It'll be fine. I too freeze steak. When I can afford it.

plllog, there are articles all over the web where cooks have tested Mhyrvold's method using solidly frozen steaks. They have gotten good results. The houseman could try it, but have taco shells and guac handy if it doesn't give the desired results. ;-)

FWIW, here is a link to an article where someone tested the difference between fresh and home-frozen steaks. http://blog.doingsciencetostuff.com/2013/06/08/fresh-vs-frozen-steak-revisited/

pllog, my current packing house has no freezer, only a refrigerator. So the meat gets slaughtered, hauled to the packing place, hung in the refrigerator to age, then cut and packaged and I bring it home to freeze it. No one has been able to tell the difference, although I do have large chest freezers that I make sure are empty so I can spread the packages out for quicker freezing.

The difference may be that the packing plant vacumn seals the meat while stores merely have shrink wrap.

Annie

A New York strip steak....also called a Kansas City Strip, it a steak cut from the short loin. It's a T-bone without the bone or the tenderloin.
As you say, you are not a steak eater, so how would you really know it if has been "ruined" by freezing? Trust me, it hasn't.
Take it out of the freezer, let it thaw some, rub it with a clove of garlic, sprinkle with salt and slap that puppy on a good hot grill, turn after about 1 minute and lower the heat or move it to a cooler part of the grill and cook it no more than medium rare. It will be better than fine!

I freeze steaks and can't tell the difference. I usually buy steaks from Sam's Club and they are packaged three to a pack which leaves one oddball steak. I grill two steaks and freeze the last one then when I buy steaks again, I will freeze the other odd one and then we will have two frozen steaks. They taste just fine when I cook them, I don't notice a difference. I just put them in the fridge the day before I want to cook them and they are thawed by the time I'm ready to cook. I always take steaks out of the fridge a couple hours before time to grill so they will not be cold.

Here's another who freezes steaks all the time, I see no loss of quality. We haven't raised beef in a few years now, but I've received it from the butcher both flash frozen and refrigerator temp not frozen. I doubt very much if you will notice any difference when the meat is cooked. We often buy prime rib roasts during holiday specials and wrap, freeze for use later in the year. Wonderful.

Exception is when kept too many weeks frozen in a refrigerators self defrosting freezer - you could find it more dry if frozen too many months under those conditions. My manual defrost freezer will hold red meat with no deterioration for a year - my goal is no more than a year but I'll admit to occasionally longer.

America's Test Kitchen even suggests you don't need to thaw a frozen steak before cooking.

Because you have to sign up to read ATK's process, I'm linking to a site that tells you how HERE.

Okay, it's clear that none of you want to help with recipes. This is not my steak, and I'm not the one going to be eating it. THEY do not want to eat it as if fresh, and they're the ones who must be pleased. Your arguments are not going to change the minds of a couple of very old folks who have been cooking all their lives. I have eaten home frozen steaks at friends' and thought they were nasty, but that might have been other quality problems. My opinion in this doesn't count. The owners of the steak consider it ruined.

BTW, this steak was frozen in the butcher paper, not sealed in any way.

The conclusion in Bbstx's science link (thanks for that!), where the steak was ziplocked, but not in paper, was: the improved flavour of the fresh steak [compared to the identically bought frozen one] was much greater than expected.

They will not eat their steak, on any occasion, as a steak, with garlic, butter or any other disguises.

Morz, I agree about the self-defrost and the flash freezing.

Maddielee, thanks for the link. It's not going to happen, but I appreciate your efforts.

Tacos it is.

LOL! Thanks! I'm not sure it wants to be stew, but that's a recipe. :) I actually just talked to the steak owners. They don't want the houseman to attempt tacos, so I'm going there on his day off to do them. It's settled.

I would give the meat to the houseman and go buy another piece of meat for the very opinionated and likely senile pair of old folks.
They won't eat it after freezing, they won't eat stew they don't want tacos....you aren't a steak eater you say also likely don't know how to cook it...I see no alternative but to give it away.

It could make a wonderful stir-fry. If their palates are that discriminating, it is a remarkable thing. We do freeze beef in butcher paper and have had no problems with it, so I would not even see the situation as a ding against the house-man, more just a difference of expectations that need to be sorted out/communicated in the future.

Professional butchers wrap in butchers paper. Back when the butchers would let you stand and wrap your own to save money while they cut, I've used probably several hundred yards of it myself:) There's nothing wrong with using it. (I made the mistake of being very good at wrapping, have been called upon to wrap entire beef, whole cut elk several times)

How's their chewing? I think I've already made it clear I'd happily eat it, serve it...but grilled and sliced thinly over fresh salad with bit of blue cheese dressing would be very good.

It's all in their heads! If they didn't know it had been frozen and you had just put it back in the fridge without them knowing it, they would not know the difference. If they are convinced the meat is ruined and they are that darn picky then just throw it in the trash. Sounds like there would be no pleasing them as they are convinced it's ruined. Such a shame to be so bull headed. I hope I never get that way when I get old!

It depends.

If meat is not freezed properly, you may get some degree of freezer burn, and freezer odor.

If freezer automatic defrost is not functioning properly, the meat can be thaw/frozen many many many times.

dcarch

Well I got the impression that this just happened. Of course if it's been in the freezer months then perhaps that's a different story. I don't recall her saying it's been frozen for a long time.

Eons ago, I had spaghetti with steak (in lieu of ground beef) sauce. at a restaurant and remarkably delicious. Since your'e doing the honors, perhaps you could improvise using your T&T recipe.

Linda, you misunderstood. I've eaten a lot of very fine steak in my life, but don't choose to to eat steak regularly. The people in question might be very opinionated but they're not at all senile. They've just had their opinions about freezing for a very very long time and aren't about to change it because you say they should. I was the one asking for more interesting ideas than tacos. They're fine with the tacos. Also asking because I haven't been feeling all that well, and would have rathered not having to make them. They would eat stew. I said I didn't think stewing steak was a great idea, but thought stroganoff was an interesting alternative. You, Linda, are much vaunted as a great cook, so I wish you could have just given a recipe for dish with steak in it instead of taking umbrage at the request and trying to change the requirements.

Tishtoshmom, you're right that the houseman just didn't know, and in the longrun it'll be fine. He's learning. Unfortunately, when the Chinese mamas were teaching how to stir fry, they patted me and said something along the lines of it's okay to just look pretty. It's not a skill I've mastered or feel able to teach. You're right that it would be a good way to use the meat.

Morz, It was the butcher who wrapped it, and I'm sure it was done well. I was referring to previous post and link that had the meat in vacuum seal or ziplock, and that this was a different variant. They chew fine. Good teeth. Your salad sounds good to me (a way I'd prefer to eat steak than in a big hunk).

Arkansas_girl, I know everyone is saying it's just the same, and I believe you all think so, but I also think, knowing how they are about meat, that they would know. Similarly, I have this friend who can tell by tasting which dairy the milk came from, when it all just tastes like milk to me. They're not bullheaded just because they don't want it done in a way they don't like. They're used to unadulterated steak. Grilled. Perhaps a little finishing salt. Nothing more. Only the meat. They can tell. Really. Thrown in a tortilla (taco) with spices, salsa, guacamole and chopped veg, they won't. That's why I was asking for recipes. For a way of cooking steak that they will eat (not covered with garlic or butter), but where the apex of quality wouldn't matter. I didn't even think of tacos before I started my post. It was frozen about two weeks ago. Got overlooked in the movement home of the injured.

Nannygoat, that's a very interesting idea. My T&T takes hours, however, and I don't know that you could tell the difference in the end. Do you have an idea about the way to go about making it more like the one you had where the steak made a difference?

Everybody, although I'm intrigued by Nannygoat's steak spaghetti sauce, and would welcome other ideas for using steak in cooking for general knowledge, I don't know that I want to open this thread again. I was expecting help, not bullying, and I woke up to news of a death in the family, I'm still not 100% well, and just don't have the strength for it. I'm tired of having my relatives insulted because their customs and concerns don't match up with some of yours.

Under the circumstances, I agree with bbstx and would make a delicious beef stroganoff. Partially thaw the steak in the refrigerator and slice thinly against the grain. Use a classic recipe with mushrooms and sour cream. (Caution: many recipes use beef tenderloin but if it's a good quality piece of meat, shouldn't be a problem. ). Serve over egg noodles with a vegetable and hopefully they'll enjoy it.

Condolences to you and your family.

I had that meal at the Old Spaghetti Factory and regrettably, it hasn't been on their menu for years. I've wanted to replicate it but have never found a recipe. I just found this for you, which is relatively fast and simple and seems like it would disguise any perceived steak deficits.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/rigatoni-with-steak-sauce-recipe.html

P, I think frozen steak is fine/great unless it's freezer burnt. A partially frozen steak is perfect for the pan, broiler or less than roaring grill. It will brown yet still be rare inside.

I think we are all perplexed because a steak is one mainstay that does survive the freezer beautifully.

soooo..? they want a steak to be grilled with no seasoning but a sprinkle of finishing salt.....but if the steak has been frozen then it must be stewed or stir fried or braised? And presumably seasonings are OK with those cooking methods?
Could you rub that steak with some garlic powder, ancho chili powder and a pinch of cumin and grill it, medium rare, slice it and put it into a soft taco with some shredded lettuce, chopped onions, chopped tomato and guacamole? would they know it was that nasty frozen steak?
How about if you pounded it well with some flour and salt and pepper, pan fried and added a can of tomatoes, a 1/4 cup chopped onions 4 oz sliced mushrooms and simmered it until tender.....would they tolerate those seasonings on their steak?
How about you cut it into 1 1/2 inch cubes, thread it onto a skewer alternating with quarters of onion and squares of bell pepper and cherry tomatoes, brush with a simple bottled Terayaki sauce and grill until the meat is medium rare....would they recognize that as a nasty previously frozen steak?
And what's elderly, by the way?...that they chew well, taste well and never ever eat frozen beef?...I'm not so young myself!

We all have our food quirks. I personally do not think anyone should ever have to eat anything they don't want to eat. I don't eat beans or peas. DH would starve before he would eat eggplant. I love raw oysters. There are those who think they are gross. We had good friends who would buy expensive meat from the snooty-patootie butcher shop, grill it to perfection, and then douse it in ketchup! It was how they liked it. (Don't ask how they started doing that. I have no idea.)

plllog, I'm sorry you are not feeling well and that your family has experienced recent loss. Your plate is full. I hope preparing this dratted piece of meat can wait until you are a little more up for the challenge.

Goodness, I always freeze, in my home freezer, my expensive - $18/pound - steaks, and they always thaw, cook and taste wonderful. I've never had a mushy steak, plenty of tough ones, but never mushy.

I don't eat much beef, and my steaks are very, very small - a quarter pound or less - but they sure are good.

If you cook the steak, as usual, will they even know? I doubt it.

plllog, my condolences on your family's loss. I hope you feel better soon.

You could make steak tips over noodles with mushrooms, although lately I've been hungry for beef barley soup with mushrooms, kind of the same flavors. From your explanation it seems to be what we call "rib-eye" or "boneless rib-eye". It's a high fat and tender cut, and seems a shame to braise it as it doesn't need long cooking for tenderness.

I do have a good recipe for a beef and broccoli dish, but I suppose that's too much like stir-fry. You could marinate it and make shish-kabob, as LindaC mentioned, and serve on rice pilaf or wrapped in a flatbread. You could make hash, or cook it, chop it, mix with potatoes and rutabaga and bake in a crust, making Upper Peninsula pasties. It could be a beef pot pie.

Or you could just make tacos.

Annie

My condoleances.

If texture is the thing for them, I'd go to the other extreme and braise the steaks in red wine and onions and serve it with a fabulous, buttery mashed potato and some fresh, wilted spinach.

I would at least make fajitas, rather than tacos.

Thank-you for the condolences and well wishes, and for the further suggestions.

My apologies for going off yesterday. I realize now that the repeated suggestions to use it as normal, which made me feel so beat up, likely came from the question in the subject line, rather than the request for recipes in the post. That's on me. At the point I posted, I don't think I had any clear ideas about what I needed to do, which is why I was asking, but which also made my request murky and unfocused.

As in many cooking issues, there's some disagreement here and that is disconcerting, particularly when it is unexpected. I am sorry you felt that way and hope the meat was cooked in a way that made them happy.

Internet communication lacks body language, tone of voice and other cues which makes it easily misunderstood. It creates an urgency to think and write quickly which can lead to carelessness. I am learning to look at what I write from the recipient's perspective, even reading it aloud in the opposite way I intended, whether serious or sarcastic.

It's always disconcerting when a routine question becomes anything but.

Pillog, your relatives are fortunate to have you in their lives.

Just FYI: A New York is often referred to elsewhere as a NY Strip or just Strip Steak. It is NOT a rib eye cut. It has much less fat and isn't good for stewing (it will just dry out). Fajitas or stroganoff or 'beef tips' would probably work best.

When I came out to live on the West Coast, when folks asked what my favorite steak was I'd say "Delmonico". Learned real fast that nobody out here knew what the heck that was! Most folks barely understand the difference between a Porterhouse and a T-Bone, sigh :((

jakkom, here a Delmonico is an old fashioned term, seldom used, and meant to denote a rib-eye steak. New York is invariably a strip steak.

I've edited this to add this, I was just looking up a specialty market in Traverse City and found the "Delmonico Roast", also known as boneless prime rib!

http://www.burrittsmarket.com/news/holidaymeatdepartmentmenu.html

Also, according to Wikipedia: "

Delmonico's steak may now, in the 21st century, refer to other cuts, prepared differently in different parts of the USA. This wider variety of beef cuts may be broiled, fried, or grilled. Some of the steak cuts now commonly referred to as Delmonico steak include:

Boneless rib-eye: A Delmonico cut rib-eye consists of two heart cuts of ribeye tied together with butcher's twine. It resembles a filet mignon in appearance, but because of the more marbled nature of a ribeye, is moister. The modern rarity of the Delmonico cut of rib-eye may be because it renders the remaining pieces of ribeye unsaleable as anything but stewmeat, and the profit to be made from a pair of choice ribeyes is almost always more than that of a single Delmonico. The Delmonico Steak served by the current iteration of Delmonico's in New York is a boneless ribeye.

Annie

Or a Kansas City strip....the closer you get to Kansas city!

It's old fashioned because a lot of people won't pay for an inch (edit: that should be 2") thick prime steak with a big ol' bone on it. :)

The confusion comes because there have been different owners of the Delmonico's restaurant, with closures in between revivals, and, according to Wikipedia, there are also regional variations on what a Delmonico steak is. I read somewhere (though can't figure out where, to cite it) that they currently (or maybe a previous currently) serve rib eyes.

What I can say for sure is that the restaurant supply packers, where my parents bought their beef when I was a kid, made steaks called "Delmonico" and "New York" cut, and the difference was the bone. It sounds like my West Coast version and Jakkom's from where she came from, are the same. (The word was known....but I guess you'd have to ask people who knew what the cuts were. Those were the only "steaks" we had. The rest of the side of beef was in other cuts.) Perhaps that what was current at Delmonico's at the time, or just before.

Hugs, plllog! My word, you've been through the wringer lately. I don't know a dang thing about steaks, but I do know about elderly folks and opinions (including extreme economy and valuing thrift). My tactic: "just smile and nod." Plus, aren't your relatives experts in bagels? So, they get hugs too just because:)

bbstx - "We had good friends who would buy expensive meat from the
snooty-patootie butcher shop, grill it to perfection, and then douse it
in ketchup! It was how they liked it" HA! This kind of stuff KILLS my mom. I'm laughing cause I can hear her -- think somewhat strident. I've had to let these things go.

Plllog, continuing to think about you -- will be looking forward to baking with you some more here soon when things (work) settle here a bit! Hopefully, things will be better at your end too!

Cathy in SWPA

Thanks, Cathy! I expect you're the bagel expert, now! The weather is supposed to be trending cooler and wet (!), which portends well for bread I do so miss the bread!

Bulgogi.

This is more of a question than a suggestion because I've never had the cut you mentioned: would treating it as a London broil be suitable? I used to buy flank steak but rarely see it any more (or it's too expensive now), so I generally buy a thick top round steak or two and store them in the freezer. When I'm ready to use one, I put it in a large ziplock bag with a small amount of canola oil and an equally small amount of soy sauce (in my case, the low-sodium kind). Sometimes I add garlic and herbs, too. I let it marinate, turning it frequently, for an hour or so and then broil it, still partially frozen. Sliced at an angle, it's usually tender, but that varies with the particular piece of meat more than the technique. It's always delicious.

My condolences on your recent loss. I hope you're feeling better.

Sue