Resting meat
Also searched as: resting, resting time, waiting after cooking
In short: After cooking, wait a few minutes before cutting. Much less juice runs onto the board.
Like fizzy water after shaking: opened straight away it gushes out; wait a moment and it stays in the bottle.
What happens
Right after cooking the juice is thin and the fibres are under tension. As it cools, the juice gets a little thicker and less runs out when cutting. At the same time the temperature inside rises a little more ().
Why it matters
In one test, a pork roast rested for 10 minutes lost around 60 % less juice than one cut straight away.
How it’s done
Move the meat from the pan to a board or rack.
All steps as a list
- Move the meat from the pan to a board or rack.
- Cover loosely, not tightly, otherwise the crust turns soft.
- Rest steaks for about 5 minutes, roasts for 10–20 minutes.
- Slice across the grain.
“Without resting, all the juice runs out.” Some always runs out. Resting reduces it a lot; after about 10 minutes, waiting longer brings little more.