Resting your steaks - why?

[Mobsta]

I've been wanting to ask/admit my ignorance for ages. I'll keep it short... Why is resting meat so mandatory? I rest to make cutting easier, every minute helps, but cutting aside, is really so necessary to leave it alone?

[Pete Franklin]

The muscle contracts under high heat. Resting alows it to relax and the juices move back through the meat making it appear more tender. It also allows the temp to become uniform throughout the meat resulting in less of a mixture of doneness I.e cold middle burnt edge, as the outside continues to heat the inside.

[Odie]

give the 'how to cook like heston' beef episode a watch, he goes into it and does a demonstration.

[Soir]

In simple terms, without resting you will end up with a lot of juice on your plate (not in the steak)
Leave it for at least 5 mins and the juice will stay in the steak (and spread through it more evenly).

Tempting to eat straight away but it's arguably the most important process (however you decide to cook it)

I'm still trying to make the perfect steak!

[Doobs]

I'm not great at cooking, and I find if I somewhat undercook a steak the mrs wont complain if it is well rested because you dont end up with a load of blood/juice on the plate. Like mentioned above, the juices get back in the meat and an undercooked centre wont be stone cold as the heat balances out as it rests. I generally wrap them in foil and leave steak for 10 minutes. A Sunday roast I'll happily leave for half an hour while the yorkies are being done and carrots are refusing to boil.

[Blown2CV]

nothing worse than blood spilling all over your plate. I used to think i didn't like rare steak and until recently had always asked for medium, but then i found out that my only experiences of rarer meat have been where it hasn't been rested properly. It is, as they say, a revelation.

[RVVUNM]

Odie said:

give the 'how to cook like heston' beef episode a watch, he goes into it and does a demonstration.

I followed his method of turning it every 15 seconds and resting at the end with a nice bit of Ribeye and have to say it was amazing, easily the best way.

[F-Stop Junkie]

I did a couple of steaks the Heston way, resting for five minutes on a wire rack, and was happy with the meat, but the steak were really getting very tepid. How do you rest and keep them warm?

[Scantily]

F-Stop Junkie said:

I did a couple of steaks the Heston way, resting for five minutes on a wire rack, and was happy with the meat, but the steak were really getting very tepid. How do you rest and keep them warm?

Cover it with tin foil.

[cal216610]

I have the oven on lowest setting, this works fine for me.

[tim-b]

Scantily said:

F-Stop Junkie said:

I did a couple of steaks the Heston way, resting for five minutes on a wire rack, and was happy with the meat, but the steak were really getting very tepid. How do you rest and keep them warm?

Cover it with tin foil.

....and pop a couple of tea-towels on top.

[Guffy]

What about beating your meat beforehand?

[Fatbloke]

wash your hands before cooking, wont you

[Odie]

RVVUNM said:

Odie said:

give the 'how to cook like heston' beef episode a watch, he goes into it and does a demonstration.

I followed his method of turning it every 15 seconds and resting at the end with a nice bit of Ribeye and have to say it was amazing, easily the best way.

Ive heard this from a few people now, but have yet to try it myself.

[Lee_sec]

Fatbloke said:

wash your hands before cooking, wont you

have a

[Gwagon111]

Because Heston said so

[RVVUNM]

Gwagon111 said:

Because Heston said so

Or because I said so, because I've tried it.

[Gwagon111]

RVVUNM said:

Or because I said so, because I've tried it.

Possibly