Myths About Steak, Kobe Beef and Frozen Meat Debunked

Of all the transgressions Donald Trump has committed against the GOP establishment in recent weeks, perhaps none has made them gristle quite like his admission to preferring his steak well done.

But that’s not the only beef that divided opinion in the red meat world this week.

A new study conducted at Kansas State University discovered some interesting results about how chilling choice cuts in the freezer affects their quality.

In honor of their work, here are five alleged steak facts from which we trimmed the proverbial fat.

“Freezing a steak before cooking ruins its tenderness”
Those KSU scientists found strip loin and inside round steaks were as much as 10 percent more tender after being frozen, according to the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force test. “Moisture loss did occur, but it was low, about two percent,” says animal sciences and industry professor John Unruh.

“Don’t flip your steak more than once”
Flipping a steak multiple times will help the meat cook evenly and speed up grilling time by as much as 30 percent. If flipping a steak “infinitely fast” were possible, wouldn’t that be the way it to do it in order to seal in the juices evenly on both sides? Survey says yes.

“Your favorite restaurant serves real Kobe beef”
It’s a juicy little secret, but many U.S. restaurants pass off Japanese Wagyu beef as authentic Kobe — a much rarer (heh) and more heavily regulated variety. Kobe beef must come from Tajima-Gyu cattle that’ve lived and been slaughtered in the Hyōgo prefecture (Kobe is the capital). It’s a rectangle-square situation. “All Kobe is Wagyu, but not all Wagyu is Kobe,” says Stripsteak Las Vegas executive chef Gerald Chin.

“It’s totally to fine to order a steak well done”
An anonymous Redditor (and food industry vet) explained chefs’ collective ire for the phrase “well done” in a recent thread inspired by a Hank Hill meme. Steak is “designed to be medium or less, with mid rare or below being optimal,” he wrote. “The care and dedication to a craft has been thrown out the window and it is as insulting to a master carpenter to use his finest wood and all of his skill to make a chest that is going to be burnt for fuel.”

“They don’t really feed the dogs at Westminster steak, right?”
After winning Best in Show and Reserved Best in Show at the world’s most famous “Who’s a good boy?!” ceremony, CJ the German Shorthaired Pointer and Lucy the Borzoi will dine on steak lunches at Sardi’s in Times Square to celebrate their respective wins. The annual tradition continues on despite health and cleanliness concerns raised by former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.