Cooking myths and other common misconceptions

[Clonehomer]

The one that's widely known now, pork chops to 145 not 165/170. One of my least favorite things growing up because they were always dry. Now I eat chops for dinner multiple times a week. Just picked up a dozen 8oz chops on sale at HyVee last night for $1.67 per.

Iowa Chops are my favorite. Don’t care for chops from the loin, need more fat marbleized. Also, chops on a skillet or Blackstone are so much better than grilled. Especially if you make a gravy from the dripping on a cast iron.

 

[FerShizzle]

You people take meat WAY TOO SERIOUSLY.

 

[Mr Janny]

You people take meat WAY TO SERIOUSLY.

If there's a better use for AI, I haven't found it.

 

[Cloned4Life]

Resting it can be used to ensure it cooks through evenly, for example removing it a few degrees under the desired temperature because it will continue to rise for a few minutes even after being taken off heat. You will lose juices if you rest it though so that part is a myth.

If you sous vide or low-smoke your steak and take it out JUST under its optimal temperature (e.g., the temperature you enjoy) - reverse sear on extremely high heat (I prefer cast iron, with tallow, butter, herbs, etc.) and you can literally cut right into it and it is absolute perfection. Waiting/resting makes absolutely no difference in terms of the juiciness. It is absolute perfection the millisecond you take it off cast iron.

 

[Cyientist]

Iowa Chops are my favorite. Don’t care for chops from the loin, need more fat marbleized. Also, chops on a skillet or Blackstone are so much better than grilled. Especially if you make a gravy from the dripping on a cast iron.

For all of the way that one can dress up grilled pork chops, I still love marinating them in Italian dressing like my dad did when I was a kid.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

For all of the way that one can dress up grilled pork chops, I still love marinating them in Italian dressing like my dad did when I was a kid.

I like soy sauce and garlic then grilled. Even better if it's a pork steak. Now I'm getting all hot and bothered.

 

[TitanClone]

Iowa Chops are my favorite. Don’t care for chops from the loin, need more fat marbleized. Also, chops on a skillet or Blackstone are so much better than grilled. Especially if you make a gravy from the dripping on a cast iron.

My go to is marinate overnight then oven at 375 for 20 minutes. No need for any gravy/sauce on those

 

[TitanClone]

I like soy sauce and garlic then grilled. Even better if it's a pork steak. Now I'm getting all hot and bothered.

Soy, W sauce, pepper, garlic, onion, paprika and cayenne is gold on chops

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Soy, W sauce, pepper, garlic, onion, paprika and cayenne is gold on chops

Ya that's my mom's go to. Good on chicken too.

 

[SouthJerseyCy]

If you sous vide or low-smoke your steak and take it out JUST under its optimal temperature (e.g., the temperature you enjoy) - reverse sear on extremely high heat (I prefer cast iron, with tallow, butter, herbs, etc.) and you can literally cut right into it and it is absolute perfection. Waiting/resting makes absolutely no difference in terms of the juiciness. It is absolute perfection the millisecond you take it off cast iron.

This right here is the answer to the entire debate. OP is grilling his steaks over high heat, there is absolutely some residual cooking and redistribution of juices by letting it rest slightly (loosely tented with foil). However, if you are using sous vide, the meat will come to optimal temperature slowly and there is little to no effect from resting after the sear.

 

[Paz23]

I think the cut and cook makes a huge difference on how much time you rest it. I prefer thicker ribeyes and resting allows for a more even distribution in the center and allows the fat to properly render. Also seems to help reduce gray bands. If you’re smoking a brisket you may want to rest as much as overnight in a warmer.

I agree. Ribeyes are hard to F up, but as a general rule, rest everything. If a steak gets cold because of the rest (covered), you have one of two problems - either you have a child-size steak or you let it rest too long. I do think it has more to do with relaxing the muscle than with the juice running out.

For Brisket, a rest is crucial and actually an overnight stay in hotel refrigeratore is required for me. I have never had good luck keeping bark intact trying to slice even a well-rested, warm brisket. Get it cold and slice it cold and you can get thin slices with bark. Just re-heat for service on a low temperature wrapped in foil or a covered pan. Plus, the cleanup is all done and the leftovers are put away so the beer count increases exponentially without the risk of "forgetting" to put away $40 worth of leftovers.

 

[BACyclone]

Not a myth, but my hill to die on...cast iron skillets are overrated. This is a me problem. I consider myself an above average amateur chef, but I absolutely hate dealing with my cast iron.

I now go with stainless steel. I get it hot enough so water beads up, oil it, and then it essentially acts like a non-stick at that point.

We have a complete set of cast iron skillets and almost use nothing else in the kitchen.

Once those babies are seasoned, frankly I think they are the easiest pans to both cook with and clean up on the planet.

I really wish I would have learned this a long time ago.

 

[Paz23]

This right here is the answer to the entire debate. OP is grilling his steaks over high heat, there is absolutely some residual cooking and redistribution of juices by letting it rest slightly (loosely tented with foil). However, if you are using sous vide, the meat will come to optimal temperature slowly and there is little to no effect from resting after the sear.

sous vide is French for I can't cook a steak on a fire properly.

 

[packattack425]

There is probably a meat scientist lurking around here somewhere that can prove/dispel this.

I follow one on only fans. I’ll let you know what she says.

 

[discydisc]

You people take meat WAY TO SERIOUSLY.

 

[WooBadger18]

There is probably a meat scientist lurking around here somewhere that can prove/dispel this.

Anecdotally, resting steaks when they come off of the cast iron has definitely seemed to make a difference.

It’s not a meat scientist but America’s Test Kitchen, who I really like and consider trustworthy, say to rest meat after cooking it. https://www.americastestkitchen.com...s-worth-it-and-we-ve-got-the-data-to-prove-it

 

[cycloneG]

I always let my steaks rest at least 15 minutes then do a quick sear right before serving.

 

[Clonehomer]

We have a complete set of cast iron skillets and almost use nothing else in the kitchen.

Once those babies are seasoned, frankly I think they are the easiest pans to both cook with and clean up on the planet.

I really wish I would have learned this a long time ago.

Agree for the most part. I keep stainless skillets around for fried eggs. The rough bottom of cast iron always ends up mangling egg for me when flipping. But anything that doesn’t start liquid is done in cast iron. Being able to take a chain mail scrubber to it is wonderful.

 

[HititHard]

My guess is the OP overcooks their steak and in that case resting not resting doesn’t matter you’ve already ruined it and the muscle fibers can’t do squat when the proteins are denatured.
With a properly cooked steak (105 degrees center max) the muscle fibers can and do trap more of the free liquid stays in the steak instead of being all over your plate.
Resting also increases the internal temperature so it’s at a perfect 110 degrees

 

[Frog]

LOL....Unless you are literally eating it off the grill grates, you are letting it rest.