Some steak more tender after freezing

When it comes to steak, most of us believe fresh is best. But research shows that some cuts become more tender after freezing.

Meat scientists from Kansas State University say they’ve confirmed previous findings about the impact of freezing strip loin (known as sirloin in Australia) and inside round steaks. They’ve tested six major muscles from the hind quarter and found that those two cuts were as much as 10% more tender after freezing.

Steaks were evaluated for tenderness using the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force test, which measures the force needed to shear muscles.

“So the question we had was why did these two cuts react while the other four did not,” said John Unruh, professor of animal sciences and industry.

Part of the answer is moisture loss. “These two muscles, for some reason, did not lose as much moisture during freezing as the other four,” Unruh said.

During the study, Unruh and his team evaluated 125 paired strip loin steaks. The steaks were frozen, thawed and evaluated for tenderness.

“The strip loin steaks showed a 6% improvement in the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force test, indicating a more tender steak,” Unruh said. “Moisture loss did occur, but it was low, about 2%.”