steaks before and after cooking. Aside from a
minimal amount of weight loss due to rendered fat,
the vast majority of weight loss comes from juices
that are forced out of the meat. When cooked to
130°F, a steak loses around 12 percent of its weight
during cooking. Cut it open immediately, and you
lose an additional 9 percent. But allow it to rest, and
you can keep the additional weight loss down to
around 2 percent.
Resting is not just for steaks, by the way. At a
fundamental level, pretty much all meat behaves the
same way, whether it’s a 30-pound standing rib
roast or a 6-ounce chicken breast. The only
differences are that just as cooking times are
different for different-sized pieces of meat, so are
resting times. By far the easiest and most foolproof
way to test if your meat has rested long enough is
the same way you can tell if your meat is cooked
properly: with a thermometer.
Ideally, no matter how well-done you’ve cooked
your meat, you want to allow it to cool until the very
center is about 5 degrees below its maximum
temperature. So for a medium-rare 130°F steak, you
should allow it to cool to at least 125°F in the center
before serving. At this stage, the muscle fibers have
relaxed enough and the juices have thickened enough
that you should have no problem with losing juices.
With in a 1½-inch-thick steak or a whole chicken
breast, this translates to around 10 minutes. For a
prime rib, it may take as long as 45 minutes.
nandana
(Nandana)
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