Some friends gave me some top sirloin they want me to prepare on Halloween. They are frozen and not flat. What is the most successful way to thaw these and what is a good method for preparing Top Sirloin which is a cut I never buy.
TIA
Cheers,
Jason
The general rule for freezing and defrosting is to freeze as quickly as possible and to defrost as slowly as possible (in the fridge).
Cool. That was my plan. Learned it from Julia Child. Just wondered if there were other schools.
Thanks.
J
and if that doesn’t work, throw them in a bowl of cold water for an hour or a couple of hours
people use top sirloin in stews often. If not, marinade that puppy to get it tender then smash it down to something flat and grill em.
Top sirloin to me is just good with the seasoning you prefer and grill that puppy … its got a nice chewy texture to me… pretty nice cut for the cost
I think Charlie’s dog eats top sirloin… 
is it a top sirloin steak or roast? How thick is it?
When in the water bowl have the water running into the bowl slowly. After an hour they will be ready to go in the fridge and ready to take out several hours before cooking
Not sure what they look like, but if they were flat, don’t thaw them
Did you try that method, David? I gave it a shot and will not be making a second attempt.
They are not flat. The told me they were and I was going to give this method a shot but when I saw them, they were far from flat.
Steaks.
On the list, maybe I shouldn’t
Perhaps Tim can let us know why he won’t try it again?
- didn’t work meat sucked?
- made a huge mess and nearly burned down the house?
- meat became jerky?
etc
(i.e. if the result is glorious but makes a huge mess, maybe some people won’t care… so it’s good to know why)…
I think top sirloin steak works well with teriyaki or other Asian marinades. I’ve been making a marinade of soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, green onions and ginger. Sometimes I add a little sesame oil and/or a little honey.
I would cut into 2-3" chunks, marinade as Truett suggests, and grill. Wipe the marinade off the meat prior to cooking, boil the marinade to thicken, and glaze for the last minute of grilling (avoids burning any sugar). Cheers
They have you use a bunch of oil which splattered and did make a huge mess. The steak ended up taking on an oily flavor which I did not appreciate. I also did not like the texture as much. Also, you cannot pre-salt the meat. I will take a thawed steak on the grill any day over the test kitchen method.
Hot water bath, per Harold McGee and food scientists:
COLD water bath, USDA and Bryan Flannerly