Does resting stew lead to more succulent meat?
My wife makes a very delicious chicken curry. Part of the "recipe" is let it rest for 2 hours or so until it reaches room temperature. She claims the meat relaxes and reabsorbs gravy from the curry, making the chicken more tender and succulent. She claims if it is served immediately or chilled in the fridge, it never gets this opportunity.
I've heard of resting steaks or roasts. The idea is getting the moisture that's already inside the meat to stay there. But will resting a stew in fact help make the meat pieces more tender?
Best Answer
It has nothing to do with meat absorbing liquids, that doesn't happen just as you explained it. Once meat has become dry, it doesn't get succulent again by somehow spongeing up liquid. The recipe is right to have you wait before serving though, because the flavors keep improving at least for the first day after cooking a stew. It is about aroma, not about texture.
For more detail, see What causes flavors to "marry"? and What happens chemically when flavours 'mingle'?, probably also other questions.
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Quick Answer about "Does resting stew lead to more succulent meat?"
It has nothing to do with meat absorbing liquids, that doesn't happen just as you explained it. Once meat has become dry, it doesn't get succulent again by somehow spongeing up liquid.Does stewing beef longer make it more tender?
Stew is the ideal time to skip the lean, pricier cuts of meat and go for the less expensive, tougher cuts. The long, slow cook time leaves lean meat, like sirloin, tough and chewy, while tougher cuts, like chuck, break down and become really tender.What does stewing do to meat?
Stewing is a way to make tougher cuts of meats palatable and tender. It's also a way to retain the maximum nutritional value of the food you cook. Stews also make dried beans edible and soft.What happens when tough meat is stewed?
If you don't leave the beef simmering at a low and slow temperature, the proteins in the meat will seize up and become tough, and the collagen and fat won't have time to break down, leaving you with a rubbery, inedible product.Does meat get softer or harder the longer you cook it?
By its very composition, meat poses a challenge to cooks. The more you cook muscle, the more the proteins will firm up, toughen, and dry out. But the longer you cook connective tissue, the more it softens and becomes edible. To be specific, muscle tends to have the most tender texture between 120\xb0 and 160\xb0F.Why do we rest meat and steaks after cooking? | Jess Pryles
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