Cooking Frozen Meats

Some sources recommend cooking some meats from the frozen state, without thawing, to eliminate drip loss that occurs during defrosting. However, it is usually better to thaw before cooking because of the following reasons:

1. Meats cooked from the frozen state lose no moisture from defrosting but lose more during cooking. The total loss is about the same as for thawed meats. Besides, the perception of juiciness depends as much or more on fat content than on moisture content.
2. Cooking frozen meats complicates the cooking process and requires adjustments in procedure. It is possible for roasts to be cooked on the outside but still frozen in the center. Frozen steaks, too, are more difficult to cook evenly than thawed steaks. Thawed meats, on the other hand, are handled like fresh meats.
3. Cooking frozen meats requires extra energy, and energy is expensive. A hard-frozen roast may take three times as long to cook as a thawed roast.