Why You Should Rest Meat Before Slicing
Give cooked meat 5 to 10 minutes before you cut it. The juices settle back in instead of running onto the board, and carryover heat finishes the center.
Right out of the pan or oven, the juices in meat are hot and thin and the outside is hotter than the center. Slice it immediately and much of that juice runs out onto the cutting board.
A short rest lets the temperature even out and the juices thicken slightly, so more of them stay in each slice. The center also keeps cooking for a few minutes, which is why larger cuts can come off the heat a few degrees early.
How to do it
Move it off the heat
Transfer the meat to a cutting board or plate so the hot pan doesn't keep cooking the bottom.
Tent loosely
Cover loosely with foil if the kitchen is cold. Wrapping tightly traps steam and softens a crisp crust.
Wait the right time
Rest chicken pieces, chops and steaks 5 minutes, thick roasts 10 to 20 minutes.
Pour back the juices
Spoon any juices on the board over the sliced meat or into the sauce.
Common mistakes
- Slicing straight away and losing the juices on the board.
- Wrapping tightly in foil, which steams the crust soft.
- Resting thin cuts so long that they go cold.
