How long can I let a steak rest after seasoning and before cooking?
I read over at Serious eats that when seasoning a steak, you either need to cook it immediately after salting, or after 40 minutes and more.
(To sum up the article, this is due to a process of osmosis that starts after salting, drawing out the liquids, and it takes at least 40 minutes for enough of them to be reabsorbed)
Anyway, they say that after the 40 minute mark, the longer I leave the meat to rest, the better it will come out at the end.
My question is: How long is too long? I imagine that at some point the meat will dehydrate (less likely) or go bad. At which conditions should I leave it and when is the point of no return?
Best Answer
The one problem I see with the article is that they cook the steak "as is" after letting it rest. They even mention that because so much liquid had been pulled out it caused problems with cooking. The missing step is to pat the steak dry. It needs to be dry when going in to the pan. I think the results are slightly skewed because of this - it was dry at the 0 minute mark and at the 40 minute mark but not at the in between marks. Keep in mind that you can wipe off seasonings when patting dry so this is still something to keep in mind.
As for your question - how long to leave it out? As Aaronaught said it doesn't really matter if it's salted or not. How long a steak can sit on the counter and not go bad will depend on the conditions and is more of a food-safety question unrelated to seasoning. You can, as the article mentions, place it in the fridge if you want to let it rest for a long time. Just remember to let it come back to room temperature before cooking for best results.
I'm not sure I really buy in to the importance of water reabsorption in how it relates to taste. The entire process of dry aging is designed to pull moisture out of the meat to give it a more concentrated beef flavor. Again, the article mentions that letting it rest this way for up to a day only results in an ~5% loss by weight, which pales in comparison to the 20%+ loss from cooking.
Now if you want to let it "rest" for a LONG time, like days or weeks you're talking more about a process like dry aging, in which case you'll want to start with a large piece of meat as the outside will need to be cut off as it will get rather dried out and not very appealing to eat. This involves more than just putting meat in the fridge though, so you probably don't want to go too far past 24 hours in the fridge.
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Quick Answer about "How long can I let a steak rest after seasoning and before cooking?"
I salt the surface of the steak liberally and leave it on a drying rack in the fridge for 24 hours before starting to cook – this is called the overnight dry brine. Dry brining in the fridge makes the meat juicer, tastier and dries out the outside which helps to achieve a good crust.How long do you let steak sit after seasoning?
Once the steak has reached room temperature, about 20-30 minutes, it should be cooked. You can put the rub on the steak and refrigerate it for several hours, or overnight, but it should be rest 20-30 minutes before cooking. No longer than that.How long can steak sit out before cooking?
Cooked steak that has been sitting out for longer than 2 hours (or 1 hour above 90\xb0 F) should be discarded.How long can steak sit with salt and pepper?
Salt and pepper is it. There are two ways to season the steak. Just before cooking or 24-hours in advance. My preferred method is to season the steak generously with salt and pepper then let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator at least overnight or up to 48 hours.How long can steak sit in dry rub?
You can leave rub on a steak for as little as 30-40 minutes or as long as overnight. Leaving it on overnight will really allow those flavors to soak into the steak.How and Why to Rest a Steak
More answers regarding how long can I let a steak rest after seasoning and before cooking?
Answer 2
Thomas Keller, in Ad Hoc At Home, says twenty minutes from seasoning to pan. I see no reason to dispute this.
Answer 3
Once the steak has reached room temperature, about 20-30 minutes, it should be cooked. You can put the rub on the steak and refrigerate it for several hours, or overnight, but it should be rest 20-30 minutes before cooking. No longer than that.
Answer 4
If you add salt to the steak, you need to cook it as soon as possible, because the salt will make the juices of the steak leak, and it will loose a lot of taste.
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