Major rule about cooking meat turns out to be wrong

Retaining the juices in the meat has to do with the temperature at which the meat is cut. Resting allows the temperature to drop, which creates less pressure, so the juices aren't forced out of the meat nearly as strongly.

The title is click-bait. The major rule is correct, not wrong. But, now we know a little bit more about why this rule works.

> As the meat rests (and therefore cools) that vapor pressure decreases, and so does the juice loss. It's not about reabsorption or thickening as the juices cool, which is another common explanation that's been offered over the years. It's simply about pressure. Control for final internal temperature, and—rested or not—the juice loss is the same.

The original meat resting rules were essentially engineering, when it is forced to run significantly in advance of science, in this case due to lack of sufficiently accurate measurement tools (instant-read themometers that can be left in the meat). They were discovered ad-hoc. They worked. But the theories behind them turned out to be incorrect.

Thermometers improved, the ability to control the cooking environment improved, and experiments could be run that contradicted the old theories about why it worked, and led to an improved methodology that could be used with more equipment.

This in turns leads to engineering better meals, even if only from the point of view of doing somewhat less work to the same result.

And the wheel will keep turning.

I don't really like the article title though, the rule seems pretty much correct?

> Carryover cooking is greatly underestimated in both its speed and degree, and this has a huge impact on whether resting meat does or does not work well.

That has long been my main reason for doing it and my guide for how long to rest. Until the carryover has nearly or just stopped and the internal temp is about to or has just begun dropping. For thin skirt steak or grilled shrimp this could be about as long as it takes to walk inside, for a pork shoulder or standing rib roast it might be nearly an hour.

Also long been understood that there's no benefit to resting sous vide meat, since there's no carryover to manage.

I like to sear my steaks in a cast iron skillet. I use an induction cooktop and tend to start at medium-high and ramp up to as hot as the stove will get. I think the ramp-up is important to render some of the fat without just letting it all evaporate.

I turn the steaks over frequently (30s intervals), which keeps the inside from cooking too much while the outside gets nice and crispy. I take them off the heat probably 2-3 minutes (but keep flipping! The pan is still really damn hot) before they go into the oven (at 400F).

I take the steaks out when they hit 120 and pull them out of the pan ASAP.

During the “rest” that follows I add pepper and butter to the tops of the steaks. The outsides of these steaks become way, way hotter than the insides. But the size of the layer that is so hot is very thin due to the frequent turning. So they don’t need to rest long, and the temp doesn’t rise too much once they’re out of the oven.

Can we do a study on that too?

hmmmmm. I want to grill two steaks, the same size, and to the same internal temperature on the same grill. Let one rest for ten minutes in a pie pan and cut the other into 4 pieces letting it also rest for ten minutes in a pie pan. Probably also wrap them in tinfoil. Then weigh the released juices at the end.

There is a huge difference between eating a steak that has rested allowing the vapor pressure decrease vs one that hasn't rested even though the internal temperatures in the middle are the same.

edit: I found a video of the experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYA8H8KaLNg

Doesn’t this approach necessarily mean that some of the meat will be cooked longer than other meat?

So if the meat is at the target temperature - slice it right away. If the temperature is below the target temp, and the meat is thick, wait until the target temperature is reached, then slice it.

The trick is knowing how thick the meat is, how much the temperature will continue to rise after removal, and therefore when to remove the meat.

I don't rest meat to keep it juicy. I rest it to finish the cook. It's not quite ready when it comes off the heat.

Now I'll read the rest. :-)

Unfortunately most of that is undone by self proposed experts on cooking shows, blogs, tiktok, ...

Yes, this is the exact reason I always rest mine.

When you cook a steak on a cast iron, if you wait to pull it until the internal temp is reached, you'll end up either burning it or drying it out depending on temp.

The best way is to cook it as absolutely hot as possible to get a good sear, then just let it sit. As long as it's fatty enough(or you use enough oil, depending), the center will continue to heat long after you remove it.

and another delicious L for James Lopez.

I might be able to understand if you unintentionally rested meat because you poorly timed the finish of sides, but as soon as food is cooked, it should be served hot immediately, preferably with warmed plates from the oven if it wasn’t in use for your cook.

Completely asinine to me that people are letting food sit to get cold before eating it.

This is not news to anyone who actually cooks and knows how. (prepared for the downvotes for sounding snobbish but idk how else to say it)

So... you want to rest to bring the temperature down before slicing. The rule about resting isn't wrong in practice, it just had an incorrect explanation as to why it works.

> But my 1.5-inch-thick chops completely defied this: Even when I pulled one a full 15°F before hitting its target temperature of 140°F, it had reached 140°F and threatened to surpass it in under three minutes. Follow the conventional resting advice, and in many cases, you're going to blow right past your target temp.

This article is conflating different things. Obviously, don't overcook your protein. The best way to guarantee this is with sous vide. But in any case, the conclusion isn't to avoid resting. It's to pull the meat earlier to avoid overcooking, and then rest for the reason explained at the start of this comment.