Research Shows Freezing Meat May Improve Some Meat Cuts

In the case of certain beef cuts, research shows that freezing the meat and cooking it later actually improves the tenderness. Kansas State University Meat Science Professor Dr. John Unruh says that a research team of graduate students tested six major muscles from the hind quarter and found that strip loin and top round steaks were more tender after freezing.
Unruh: “Well the first study we found about a 10 percent improvement in Warner-Bratzler Shear Force test or tenderness in the strip loin steaks and then a 9 percent improvement in a top round steak. Those were the only two muscles that we found that had a significant improvement in shear force. The follow up study of the grocery story also showed a 6 percent decrease in the Warner-Bratzler Shear or improvement in tenderness.”
Moisture loss is a consideration as well. However, these two cuts did not lose as much moisture during freezing as the other four cuts.
Unruh: “Freezing is an excellent method of meat preservation. As you can see in this study, we really didn’t lose shall we say, tenderness. We did lose some moisture loss that occurs also as we age longer as well. So there were some losses in moisture due to cooking for example. Again it did not affect the mechanical tenderness as measured by our Warner-Bratzler Shear.”