Trouble getting a good sear with cold searing method

I tried the cold searing method twice but wasn’t happy with the results. Both times, the inside was cooked well, but the outside never browned. I used frozen meat that I thawed in the fridge for both attempts. I patted the meat dry with paper towels and only seasoned it with pepper after cooking. I used high heat for 2 minutes, flipped, then did another 2 minutes before switching to low heat for about 8 more minutes. There wasn’t any oil splatter, and the pan didn’t sizzle very loudly. I’m not sure if the issue was the frozen meat, my technique, or something else. submitted by /u/ohno_2022