That time I blew off a chef's advice about resting steak for a full year

I used to think resting steak after cooking was just some food blogger hype. Worked the line at a place in Portland for 6 months and would slice into ribeyes right off the grill. One night the head chef grabbed my arm and made me wait 8 minutes before serving a table of regulars. Took a bite of that leftover edge and the juice actually stayed in the meat instead of pooling on the cutting board. Anyone else have a kitchen rule they ignored until a veteran literally stopped their hand?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaron67724d agoTop Commenter

Man that chef probably saved you from years of dry steak. I had a prep cook buddy who used to punch the meat with a fork right off the grill to "check if it was done." Sous chef saw him do it once and literally took the fork out of his hand and threw it in the trash. Took me way too long to learn that temping is way better than poking holes in your dinner.

cole_robinson24d ago

Buddy of mine used to work at a steakhouse and swore the "chef's trick" was flipping the steak every 30 seconds... ended up with more well-done meat than rare. Owner finally pulled him aside and showed him the one-flip method with a timer. Took almost getting fired before he actually listened.