Letting meat rest after cooking

[Wolfert]

Hi Harold:

Thanks so much for spending the week with all of us. Your new book is not just good, it is magnificent!

I have a two parter question.

If I brown meat (for example, a beef fillet) at high temperature on top of the stove, then let it restt, then finally finish the cooking in the oven, is it necessary to let it rest a second time?

I've heard a second rest is not necessary for even distribution of meat juices. Do you think this is true? if so (or not) please give us your reasoning.

Edited November 7, 2004 by Wolfert (log)

[Harold McGee]

Hi Paula, thanks for your kind words, and for your question!

My answer is: it depends. If you finish the cooking at a temperature very close to the final temperature you want in the meat, and the final temperature is close to the serving temperature, then no: no second rest is needed. This might be true for tender cuts of beef or lamb, where you might be shooting for 120 or 130 degrees. However, if you’re cooking pork or a tougher cut to 150 or above, then a second rest will help the meat retain its juices: not redistribute them, but allow the protein structures to reabsorb moisture and become firmer, so that slicing doesn’t squeeze as much out.