Tom_M
TVWBB Super Fan
Who is "don"?
Don't bother resting your meat?
- Thread starter Matt H
- Start date
Who is "don"?
RCBaughn
TVWBB Super Fan
His whole argument is flawed. As have a minor in biology and chemistry and proteins definitely tighten when heated and will absolutely expel more fluid if cut when piping hot. To say that the merits of a short rest are useless is silly. I would love to see him take a freshly off the grill steak that he grilled vs. a steak that had rested for 5 minutes and eat it immediately. The meat that is rested I guarantee would hold onto juices better.
And to say to just use a piece of bread or taters to sop up what juices do spill from an unrested piece of meat spoils the whole point of eating a juicy piece of meat and not just taking a dried out cut and bathing it in au jus sauce made from a McCormick packet. It's all about texture and mouthfeel and both are improved when there is more juice within the steak. When I chew a steak, I want to taste the flavorful juices along with the tenderness of the meat, not a flavorless piece of dryer meat along with a beef flavor piece of garlic bread. You with me on this? Don't get me wrong, I love some juices sopped up on bread or taters, but be darned if I want 70% of my steaks bloody juices spread all over my plate!
I will give him the point though that probably by the time you pull the steaks, get the plates fixed and everyone set down to eat the meat has probably had almost long enough, and if you got someone who says REALLY long prayers before you dig in the meat definitely been rested long enough!. But it has still been RESTED and not just cut into immediately. It's almost like he's contradicting himself! Send him to the UAB Science Department and we can have a throwdown on this! Alright, I'll quit my rant now, but the article is wrong in my mind.
And to say to just use a piece of bread or taters to sop up what juices do spill from an unrested piece of meat spoils the whole point of eating a juicy piece of meat and not just taking a dried out cut and bathing it in au jus sauce made from a McCormick packet. It's all about texture and mouthfeel and both are improved when there is more juice within the steak. When I chew a steak, I want to taste the flavorful juices along with the tenderness of the meat, not a flavorless piece of dryer meat along with a beef flavor piece of garlic bread. You with me on this? Don't get me wrong, I love some juices sopped up on bread or taters, but be darned if I want 70% of my steaks bloody juices spread all over my plate!
I will give him the point though that probably by the time you pull the steaks, get the plates fixed and everyone set down to eat the meat has probably had almost long enough, and if you got someone who says REALLY long prayers before you dig in the meat definitely been rested long enough!. But it has still been RESTED and not just cut into immediately. It's almost like he's contradicting himself! Send him to the UAB Science Department and we can have a throwdown on this! Alright, I'll quit my rant now, but the article is wrong in my mind.
Matt H
TVWBB Fan
Now that's an idea. It's about time a tvwbb video series was started.
David
TVWBB Pro
Interesting post coming from the guy with the tough steak thread who doesn't do steak much.
............................dDave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Works for us, but then again, I rarely grill any steaks over an inch and a half or so.
Alan F
TVWBB Pro
The problem is his premise is half right. You let meat rest for more reasons than only keeping juice instead the steak. The real premise is that you should rest to let the proteins relax. Juice is a secondary concern. BTW, can anyone imagine cutting a brisket right off the cooker?
I can't argue the science of it, but when you let meat sit it definitely leaks juice. Meathead believes it's better to have this juice in the meat.
But that tightened piece of meat is almost terrible to eat IMO. After his article I tested it just to be sure and what a waste eating the non rested meat was. It was like rubber. The rested piece was magnificent. The juice that came out of the rested piece was dripped back on top of the steak.
Overall this is not a big deal. But what ruffled my feathers was when Meathead was discussing this on the BBQ Central radio show, he used this study to, indulgently, make a larger, political point about how this is only one of many issues Americans are too stupid to pay attention to the science on. He came off like a confident fool.
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Wolgast
TVWBB Olympian
Im a rester aswell. If you gonna down that steak/loin/brisket/chicken in 10 min...I dont really know if its a problem. Try to cut up a "offthesmoker" lunchmeat loin...And enjoy dust the day after. I bet a Protein comming up to temps low and slow...And rested low´n´slow will be the best one out there. My SouVide vein might be talking here. But you cant beat the texture/moist level of an protein that is cooked @ pulling temps.(or really gentle)
VERY well said, Daryl. I couldn't agree more....but you mean you don't spatch-cock your chickens?! Dang, man. What are you thinking?!!!! Just kidding.
You caught me.
Russell Y
TVWBB All-Star
My steak is a small roast. So if I need to rest a roast it follows that I need to rest my smaller roast.
Eating is partially sight, if I see liquid on the plate, in my mind the steak is less juicy (whether it is or not it's too late for my brain to think otherwise)
Aged steaks have less moisture but are still considered juicy.
The worst thing you could probably do is to make it a priority to eat steaks directly from the grill after reading the article.
Eating is partially sight, if I see liquid on the plate, in my mind the steak is less juicy (whether it is or not it's too late for my brain to think otherwise)
Aged steaks have less moisture but are still considered juicy.
The worst thing you could probably do is to make it a priority to eat steaks directly from the grill after reading the article.
Chris in Louisiana
TVWBB All-Star
This is one key point to Meathead's approach:
"most of us don't begin eating a large steak by cutting it in half. The amount of area exposed by the cut is vital to determining how much spill there is. Most of us cut off a bite sized chunk from an edge, exposing much less surface area which is cooked more and will spill less."
By the time you plate your steak, call all to the table, and work your way in, allowing time for salad, chewing, and nibbling some sides, the center is pretty darned rested.
Like my Dad said about some wine one Thanksgiving that my uncle wanted to let breathe before we drank: "Can't it breathe in my glass?"
"most of us don't begin eating a large steak by cutting it in half. The amount of area exposed by the cut is vital to determining how much spill there is. Most of us cut off a bite sized chunk from an edge, exposing much less surface area which is cooked more and will spill less."
By the time you plate your steak, call all to the table, and work your way in, allowing time for salad, chewing, and nibbling some sides, the center is pretty darned rested.
Like my Dad said about some wine one Thanksgiving that my uncle wanted to let breathe before we drank: "Can't it breathe in my glass?"
RCBaughn
TVWBB Super Fan
Interesting post coming from the guy with the tough steak thread who doesn't do steak much.
So I get a pack of meat that is tough and I lose credibility on being able to cook meat or post about things I believe I know for a fact? If so, those steaks were the worst purchase ever.
I've cooked a good many steaks and not sure where you saw me say that I don't do steaks much. I've also watched my grandpa cook steaks every other Saturday from age 11 to probably when I graduated high school and moved off and he always taught me to rest the meat and be patient.
That said, I have cooked a WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE lot of lamb and it works exactly like beef. I've sectioned a rack of lamb right off the grill and the amount of juice loss was huge. Next one I didn't section it into individual ribs and loin till we sat down to eat, and after about that 10 minute wait the amount of juice loss was very small. I seriously think that his argument is null and void.
I agree, but those tight proteins are exactly what squeeze the liquid out, so they are definitely tied together. And I did cut a corner off a brisket fresh out of the smoker one time to see how the bark was and regretted it later. Never again will I do that. Ever.
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David
TVWBB Pro
Well, I don't mean to get into a "****ing" contest with you, just found it ironic about your differences, but here's your quote.
"
"
I think if one's actually reads and studies Meathead's entire article, along with the 4-5 other studies he mentions, then the art of cooking a steak has a great deal more to do with correct temp., and choice of meat than a short rest. After all, once a steak hits the plate, it takes 10 minutes to eat all of it anyway. I've never rested a steak in my life and I've been doing this for many years.......mine go from the grill to the plate with family seating down already, no waiting at all. The only times I've gotten tough steaks is when I buy a POS cheap cut or screw up and overcook them. Resting a big piece of meat is an entirely different story, Meathead clearly states that and why.
As for my steaks, I like them hot, not cold or warm,so that a pat of butter will melt, and it is the only food on my plate so any juices running around are used to dip the cut into before eating. Never had a complaint yet from family or friends about the tenderness or taste of my steaks. I've had the pleasure of eating in several of the best steak houses in Chicago and other cities, thanks to a generous expense account, back when, and even though they served "prime" beef, I rarely had a steak that I considered any better than mine..............but then, I guess different strokes for different folks..........................d
RCBaughn
TVWBB Super Fan
I don't cook a lot of nice steaks, but I do cook steaks that are on the lower end, and I do a TON of lamb loin chops, racks, and shoulder steaks and a bunch of lab and beef hamburgers and every one of them work the same way in relation to heat and proteins as a steak does.
I guess the problem for me arises that I usually take my steak and slice it completely in half so I can get to the rarest section and also the area with the least gristle or unrendered jiggly fat. I've cut into one before like this and it spilled everywhere and that was a problem for me. It's personal, but I bet that most people here would rather have that juice in their steak for mouthfeel and taste, but like you said different strokes for different folks.
I think we are on the same page as far as relaxing meat goes though. You admit that when you eat a steak fresh off the grill it does in fact spill a good bit of juice and you enjoy it, so that reinforces that resting meat allows something to happen within it so that it actually retains those juices. Maybe I am wrong in that assessment of your thoughts though. I do hold firmly to disagreeing whole heartedly with everything the article says though really, and it's the first time I've really ever read anything from his site so I do not hold any grudges or previous bias against him.
Keith Hill
TVWBB Member
I cannot remember when I first started watching cooking shows on TV somewhere late 50s early 60s and every good Cook/Chef will always advise you to rest the meat you have cooked weather its on a BBQ or in an oven or a pot.
All good cooking books will tell you that same.
Its to relax the meat (use any of the juices to make a gravy or pour over the meat)
I use the basic rule cover lightly with foil, steaks and chops etc half the cooking time.
Big pieces meat or poultry lightly covered with foil for 20-30 min as a minimum.
Keith
All good cooking books will tell you that same.
Its to relax the meat (use any of the juices to make a gravy or pour over the meat)
I use the basic rule cover lightly with foil, steaks and chops etc half the cooking time.
Big pieces meat or poultry lightly covered with foil for 20-30 min as a minimum.
Keith
Even though he says pork butts and brisket are rested in a cambro, he states that this is to continue the slow cooking process.
It CAN be, but not always. Basically at the end, his conclusion is not to rest meat to retain juiciness. Again, if you apply his conclusion in all cases, Meathead is dead wrong on brisket.
I've seen a lot of overcooked briskets come out of the smoker after one two many drinks, and guess what? It STILL gets rested. Is this to continue the slow cooking process? Nope, it is so that when you slice it, the brisket doesn't pour out all the rendered fat liquid, water and flavor and then shrivel up 20 minutes later to gray pieces of rubber.
Meathead tries to cover himself with the brisket and pork butts by adding the 'exceptions' caveat, but he is too focused on staying the course with his "no resting" theory, that IMHO, he comes off looking a little foolish by saying you can't rest brisket to retain moisture in your meat.
I'll leave the steak discussion to you other guys, but I know brisket, and pulling a packer off the pit and slicing it within seconds is a sure-fire way to let me know a lot about how your brisket tastes.
Cheers
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Max, there's no debating that holding a wrapped brisket hot for a few hours is a good idea before slicing. Fat renders and you're supposed to end up with a juicier brisket. How's that for food science? lol...
However, it doesn't change the fact that cooking will continue if you immediately wrap one in foil just off the pit and insulate for a couple of hours or even more, as so many folks recommend. Let's just say that a brisket is pulled off a pit at 190*. Well, sous-vide cooking is done down at around only 135*, if I'm not mistaken. Seems to me that if you wrap that puppy up in foil real quick and hold....I don't care if it's stacked with other briskets in a cooler or in a cambro, or just wrapped in a blanket and left on the counter. Technically, it's gonna cook in it's own juices for a while, right? It might sound nit picky, but really, the main reason I raise the issue is because folks take the practice of holding briskets and apply it to pork butts, often over-cooking and drying them out to various degrees if measures aren't taken. After I got my first wsm, I made that mistake for quite a few cooks, where I cooked overnight and would have to hold the butts hot for varying times until supper the next day. Took me a while before I figured out what was going on and why the pork wasn't as moist as the butts off my drum cookers, cooking during the day for shorter cooks and relatively short holding times. Now there's nothing wrong with holding pork butts, I'm just saying that they need to either lose some steam before being wrapped or cooked "al dente". I don't like guesswork and prefer the former....but on the other hand, I really like the texture of the bark right off the pit, pulled as soon as the meat has lost it's steam.
Anyhow....enough of Meathead, pork butts, and semantics. What are your "particulars", when it comes to holding briskets hot after a cook? In other words, do you let the meat lose it's steam any at all before wrapping to hold? Should the pit temp or finished meat temp determine holding time, any tenting time, or level of insulation/holding environment temp? What makes two hours be enough? Or is three or more better? If you trim a lot, do you have to hold hot as long? I'd really appreciate your thoughts.
Regards,
Dave