Letting your steak/roast come to room temperature


 
Len Dennis

Len Dennis

TVWBB Diamond Member
is a crock.

I received a 45 day aged tomahawk steak (more of a roast but that's another story) of about 2.25 lb the other day. Needed to read up on the best way to do this.

Now, one thing I think most of us have read is to let the meat come to room temp b4 cooking.

How is a 2-3lb cut of anything going to go from around 41o (temp of my fridge) to around 70o in an hour? IMPOSSIBLE.

For this aspect, got out my instant read and the internal of this cut was 41.3oF. 45 minutes later, it was 44.1oF

Conclusion: unless you're going to let your steak sit on the kitchen counter for a day, fuggedaboutit. Waste of time .

Just my observation FWIW.

FWIW, that cut was $27/lb CDN. Never had something that pricey b4. Was it worth it? It was very "different" in a pleasant way. It had a "richer" taste to it that i find hard to put down in words. Umami would describe it best.

eN2YwSq.jpg


BTW, did a reverse sear on it. Got it to around 125o then on to the cast iron pan to 135o, basted with butter and rosemary and some garlic. Adding that butter basting did add a new dimension to my usual method.

Would I buy that cut in the future? Doubtful. NY strips AAA go for around $8/lb and my fav (top sirloin) around $6. OTOH, maybe my palate is too jaded to enjoy the nuances this type of beef brings to the table.

I'll stick with my usual cuts, thank you very much.O
 
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I'll be interested in reading everyones' feedback; I let my [cheap] steaks sit at room temperature for a while (for no more than an hour) but I've never brought one to room temperature before grilling it. But I suppose that's why I am not considered a chef ;)
 
I have never had a steak like the one in your picture Len, but I would love to try one, just once.....
 
I season my steaks with SPOG about an hour before grilling and put them back in the fridge until just before grilling them. I've tried the room temperature a couple of times and like Len said I would have to take it out to warm hours before to even get it halfway there, so I quit doing it because I couldn't taste any difference.
 
Someplace on my computers I have a temp vs time plot for a 1.25" strip steak. If I don't find it, I'll do it again. Very slow to rise in temp.
 
Seems to me that this horse has been beaten several times here. For me, I’ve found precious little advantage in the hour sitting on the counter!
Damn, now I want a 2.8 lb tomahawk steak!
 
Good call Len.

I've done fully frozen steaks/roasts a few times and they come out great.


Just cook them at a lower temp indirect on the grill or WSM till they defrost, then sear at the end.

Tim
 
I don't want to beat a dead horse, but after some thought, I remember our own Kevin Kruger gave credence to this as it relaxed the fibers/enzymes or whatever.:)
It was a thread on the old forum, and I chimed in, but cant find it to save me.

Tim
 
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I respect what KK has to say and the theory behind that may be sound but 3 o in an hour, well I don't think there will be much if any relaxing done ;)
 
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I've never understood the whole concept of "bring the steak to room temperature.
That's simply because I have a hard enough time as is, getting a good sear on both sides without it going past medium internally...
 
For something that big I think guidelines for roasts would be more appropriate. Last year I did the Christmas roast low and slow to something like 120F and then pulled it off the heat entirely and let it rest on the counter for an hour. (Actually, it was more like 3 hours because I badly misjudged the time and it hit 120F long before I thought it would.) After the rest I then put it back on over very intense heat to brown the exterior. I would think the same general approach would work well with a big tomahawk like that.

BTW, I agree about bringing it up to room temperature. It's just not practical.
 
That steak looks like a beauty and reverse searing it was certainly the way to go. A ribeye like that is great when it's on the bone. I particularly like that apostrophe-shaped bit around the perimeter ( I forget what it's called). Dry-aged is about as expensive as it gets and it's fun to do it at least once.

Jeff
 
J Hasselberger said:
That steak looks like a beauty and reverse searing it was certainly the way to go. A ribeye like that is great when it's on the bone. I particularly like that apostrophe-shaped bit around the perimeter ( I forget what it's called). Dry-aged is about as expensive as it gets and it's fun to do it at least once.

Jeff
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You must be referring to "the cap". I find it's the tougher part of that cut BUT also has a ton of flavour (and when cut "properly" on your plate, is a great piece of meat).
 
I usually let it sit on the counter after I season it for a while and I'm getting the grill up to temp. I typically pat off any moisture with a paper towel. I agree thought that there's no way a thick steak is getting up to room temp.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
I usually let it sit on the counter after I season it for a while and I'm getting the grill up to temp. I typically pat off any moisture with a paper towel. I agree thought that there's no way a thick steak is getting up to room temp.
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Just take your instant read temp when you take it out of the fridge then again just before it goes on the grill. See if the difference is well, warmer :D
 
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