Does Cracker Barrel Use Frozen Steak?

As soon as you walk into a Cracker Barrel, you're hit with a sense of old-school nostalgia as you waltz through the country store, checking out hidden gems while you make your way to the host stand. Even just the name of the restaurant evokes that sense of nostalgia, causing you to expect a home-cooked-style meal; however, some people on social media are speculating that the chain uses frozen items — and, in particular, frozen steaks. Cracker Barrel offers three different steak options, including a hamburger steak, a 10-ounce New York strip steak, and country fried steak. The restaurant doesn't address whether steaks are frozen on its website, so it's tough to tell whether you're getting fresh or frozen beef when you order a Cracker Barrel steak.

Social media users who claimed to be employees of Cracker Barrel have chimed in on the debate, stating the restaurant's country fried steak has always been frozen, though it's tough to verify whether they are genuinely former employees and whether they're telling the truth. The country fried steak earned a spot on Chowhound's list of items to avoid ordering at Cracker Barrel, but that had more to do with the gravy than whether it was prepared from frozen. It's normal for many restaurants to move foods directly from the freezer to the fryer for a few different reasons, and for entrées like country fried steak, it can even be helpful to freeze prior to frying.

While it's possible that Cracker Barrel's country fried steak is cooked from frozen (at this time, there's no way for customers to know for sure), that's not necessarily a bad thing. We've all heard negative comments about restaurants using frozen food, but in some cases, it's helpful and necessary. Freezing items can allow restaurants to prepare food in batches, which can help expedite the time it takes for your order to get to your table. When many battered or breaded items are prepared in one day, it can also cut down on mess behind the scenes.

When it comes to country fried steak in particular, freezing before frying simply makes sense. Freezing breaded foods can help breading stay put during the frying process. When your country fried steak is frozen, the delicious, crispy breading stays put on your steak, rather than flaking off into the oil of the fryer. While country fried steak isn't a particularly time-intensive recipe, lots of people struggle to get the breading to stick to the steak, which might explain why Cracker Barrel could have decided to go with a frozen-in-advance option. The bottom line is that, while we're not sure whether Cracker Barrel freezes its steaks prior to preparing them for your plate, we can't fault them if they've chosen to go the frozen route with country fried steak. It's not such a bad idea.