Question about steak

I let steak rest for 10-15 minutes after grilling and it is always perfect, tender and juicy. However, when I return to it after it has rested, there is a pool of juices around it. It has not been cut or pierced in any way. Can someone explain why this is happening?

ATL
  • Posted by: ATL
  • August 20, 2012
  • 2800 views
  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

ATL
ATL August 20, 2012
Great idea--I love the simplicity of it! Thanks much.
 
CHeeb
CHeeb August 20, 2012
Add a dab of olive oil or butter to the plate as you bring the steak in from the grill or oven, to rest , and you will have an amazing no fuss ,no work sauce to plate your meat as you serve.
 

Voted the Best Reply!

ChefOno
ChefOno August 20, 2012

First off, some juice on the board is perfectly normal and unpreventable. There'd be even more on your plate if you didn't allow the meat a chance to rest before cutting into it.

As for how it "leaks out", it's simply a matter of there not being anything to prevent it. What normally holds moisture inside the animal, the skin, is obviously no longer a factor. And nothing, no matter what you've read or heard, is capable of "sealing in the juices".

 
ATL
ATL August 20, 2012
Thanks, ChefOno--as usual, an informative answer from you!
 
pierino
pierino August 21, 2012
To second ChefOno, what's going on is that while the steak is cooking the juices are boiling inside and concentrating toward the center (same with a roast). When you let the meat rest those juices will relax and spread through the muscle and onto your plate. ChefOno is totally on target as far as "sealing in the juices". Take that you burger flippers!
 
Recommended by Food52

Popular on Food52