Meat Debate at Work -- is it fresh?

AvidIndoorsman · Jun 13, 2017

Currently having an argument with a coworker who, I said that I never order steak at a restaurant because A. I have as much meat in my freezer as I could ever eat and B. I get a better cut and cook a better steak, in my opinion, that I can get in almost any restaurant.

He argued that those factors aside, a restaurant is better because it's fresh, i.e. never frozen... this proceeded to I like buying at a butcher because they never freeze as well.

I can't believe this is true... pretty much all beef gets frozen before it gets to your table, correct?

Growing up my family didn't eat red meat much, now I hunt for 90% of our red meat with the remaining 10% being from the beef my wife's family butchers every year. We obviously cut, wrap, and freeze everything and to be completely honest I thing everything including the beef tastes better after it's been in the freezer for 6 months to a year and ages a bit.

I'm just incredulous that unless you are going to some super organic, hipster butcher that you are getting beef that has never seen temps below 32 degrees, and/or is killed within a couple of weeks of you buying the steak.

Also I find it ridiculous that a steak that was never frozen would be in anyway better. I've done the Pepsi challenge at home with deer, elk, antelope, bear, beef and never found it to be the case... thoughts?

utahminer · Jun 13, 2017

For the most part I agree. To me the "never frozen" is just as much a marketing gimmick as everyone advertising they only sale black angus burgers and steaks. There are many cuts of meat that get better by being frozen. Steve Rinella often tells the story that his brother kills a moose every year and puts it in the bottom of the freezer, because its not worth touching until its been frozen for a year. Granted, there are huge differences between an old moose and kobe beef.

AvidIndoorsman · Jun 13, 2017

I had Rinellas in mind specifically when crafting my argument.

ShootsManyBullets · Jun 13, 2017

He's full of sh*t.
I'll eat my frozen deer, elk, and antelope steaks any day of the week over his beef.

TWT · Jun 13, 2017

Never frozen beef is great--almost as good as the grass-fed/grain-free tomatoes I am currently growing.

You could sell most of the public a dog turd if you called it non-GMO, organic, gluten free, black angus steak.

utahminer · Jun 13, 2017

TWT said:
Never frozen beef is great--almost as good as the grass-fed/grain-free tomatoes I am currently growing.

You could sell most of the public a dog turd if you called it non-GMO, organic, gluten free, black angus steak.

What an awesome comment. It made me laugh.

VAspeedgoat · Jun 13, 2017

Not to start a pissing match, but not all beef is frozen. Hell, even wendys has fresh beef. It does make a difference in my opinion but the taste of a steak has as much to do with texture, and marbling as it does being fresh. Most people couldn't tell he difference between fresh and frozen but generally like meat freshfrom a butcher because often it is a higher quality cut because there business is associated with that steak being better than an average frozen steak.

1_pointer · Jun 14, 2017

No, not all beef gets frozen before it gets to the table. Growing up in a small town with a fantastic butcher shop, most of the steaks I ever had growing up never made it into a freezer. IIRC the rationale given for wanting the moose frozen so long is just a way of aging it. He stated it's much easier to do it that way than hanging as it's generally still warm when he shoots his moose. Aging can be done without a freezer as well. Like said above, the quality of the beef will far outweigh if its been frozen or not.

PS- I concur with the co-worker to an extent. I like beef steaks I cook better than most I can get at a restaurant.

mdhunter · Jun 14, 2017

I gave some elk tenderloin to a buddy that had not been frozen and he complained how tough it was. I ate that same elk tenderloin six months later after being frozen is it was fabulous.

Maybe my buddies meat should have been "aged" more, IDK. My point is only that the freezer didn't hurt my elk meat.

AZBridger · Jun 14, 2017

Beef is hard to "age" in a freezer because fat sours MUCH faster than muscle. Worked in a butcher shop a long time. Freezing beef steaks does not help them in any way, in fact it hurts them. Beef are not an animal with tough meat due to the relatively young age they are butchered at and the lazy life they live. Venison is aged to slightly enhance flavor, but mostly because it breaks down causing it to become more tender. Having free access to a walk in at the butcher shop, we would hang out old age class animals over a month, until the whole outside was covered in mold. Wipe the animal down with a vinegar drenched towel to kill bacteria, trim and butcher. Best tastinn venison i've ever had

idnative1948 · Jun 14, 2017

AZBridger said:
Beef is hard to "age" in a freezer because fat sours MUCH faster than muscle. Worked in a butcher shop a long time. Freezing beef steaks does not help them in any way, in fact it hurts them. Beef are not an animal with tough meat due to the relatively young age they are butchered at and the lazy life they live. Venison is aged to slightly enhance flavor, but mostly because it breaks down causing it to become more tender. Having free access to a walk in at the butcher shop, we would hang out old age class animals over a month, until the whole outside was covered in mold. Wipe the animal down with a vinegar drenched towel to kill bacteria, trim and butcher. Best tastinn venison i've ever had

I agree.
When I tell people about dad going out in the shed (back in the days when it was damn cold in Oct) with an old dish rag and a bottle of vinegar to clean off the mold, they lose it. Wipe it down, cut off steaks, throw them in some flour/salt/pepper, then into a cast iron skillet with a little bacon grease, pull them out, add onions and shrooms if you have them, a slab of butter, cook, scrape up the crackles, onions etc. Dinner on!

hank4elk · Jun 14, 2017

I used to go to local butcher & be able to get beef that was dry aged to a nice green,and those 2" thick steaks would fill a grill & cut with a fork.Only had better a few times.
I can get a decent aged beef steak in Reserve from local rancher,& will next week when I'm there.
But I rarely by beef in a store or order in any restaurant less than what I call a good one....like 4 stars,which in NM means a trip to SF.
Had a steak at a fancy well known steakhouse in AZ last year for a neighbors Bday.It was like eating a Grissler(Sizzler) steak.

On the flip side I just had a backstrap steak off of the bull Corey J. gave me last year & thanks to Randy too.
It was 2 days out of the woods,then 4 days hanging in bags in cool/shade at home & in freezer.Guessing it was a fairly young 3-4 yo bull and almost as good as the cow I got later. There was little to trim off that bull & it was as tasty & tender as a 4 star joints beef.

LWC55 · Jun 14, 2017

I used to work in a butcher shop at a grocery store. Never dealt with any frozen beef. It all came in vacuum sealed bags and was shipped in large muscle groups and "butchered" from there. Beef turns a dark brown when frozen. If you see "red" beef on a butcher's shelf it has most likely never been frozen. Pre-packaged ground beef in tubes is a different story. No telling what that stuff is.

Meat Debate at Work -- is it fresh?

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