My old sous chef swore by resting steaks for 10 minutes - I called him crazy until I tried it

I used to think resting meat was a waste of time (you know, just let it sit there getting cold?). But my sous at the Grill House in Austin told me I was losing all the juice by slicing into ribeyes right off the fire. So last Saturday I caved and tried his 10 minute rule on a 16 oz prime strip. The plate wasn't swimming in red liquid, and the meat actually felt tenderer. Anyone else have that one piece of advice from a mentor that you fought for years before accepting?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_hall441mo ago

Hold up, I gotta call this out a bit. Resting a steak for 10 minutes is fine for a giant 16 oz monster, but for a normal 8 oz filet or a thin cut? You're just eating cold meat by then. I've had perfectly good steaks that rested for like 3-4 minutes and they were still juicy and hot. It's not this magic bullet everyone makes it out to be. People act like it's a religious experience, but it's really just basic physics and depends on the cut.

the_henry1mo ago

Yeah the 8 oz filet point is fair but 10 minutes is still solid even for those. I rest a 12 oz ribeye for 8-9 minutes and it comes out warm in the center no problem. The key is tenting it loose with foil so it doesn't steam.