The Unique Way Tyler Florence Rests Steak For Extra Flavor
Steak aficionados know that it's important to rest your steak after cooking it, but for those uninitiated, let's discuss.
First a fun fact: There is evidence to suggest that you should rest your steak before cooking it as well, to allow the meat to come to room temperature before coming into contact with fire. This technique allows the meat to cook more evenly and keeps it from losing its juiciness (per Bon Appetit).
Resting a steak after cooking it, on the other hand, is also about retaining the moisture and juiciness of the steak before eating it. According to Steak School, you should rest your steak for a few minutes after cooking it in order to give the juices inside the steak time to redistribute evenly. If you cut into a steak too soon, all of the juice will run out and the steak will then be less moist and tender. In the case of cooking a larger beef roast, resting time can be up to 20 minutes, but with a steak, about five minutes should do the trick.
The science behind resting a steak
According to Serious Eats, the reason it's important to rest a steak is because when the steak hits the hot pan, the juices within the steak are forced away from the edges that come into contact with heat and they move into the middle of the steak. This occurs as the fibers of the meat that are touching the pan or grill tighten up. Once the steak is done cooking, the juices that were forced to the middle of the steak need time to get back into the rest of the meat. If you cut the steak too soon, they'll pour right out.
Another factor in play is temperature. We already discussed how it's wise to bring a steak up to room temperature before cooking it, and in the case of resting a steak after cooking, it has to do with how temperature affects the fibers of the steak. When the fibers of the meat are hot, they are more tense, but as their temperature cools, the fibers relax and can absorb more of the juice back in.
If you're like Tyler Florence, however, you can employ an even more flavorful place for your steak to rest after cooking it — a butter bath.
Bathed in butter
Celebrity chef and steak expert Tyler Florence likes to give his steak even more moisture while he lets it rest, so he chooses to rest it in a bath of clarified butter with herbs. According to Food & Wine, Florence likes this technique because it gives the meat a more productive place to rest than simply on a plate where it's exposed to air.
We know that butter and steak pair very well together. If you watch any sort of steak cooking content on the internet or on your TV, you've likely seen videos of people spooning melted butter over a sizzling steak while it's in the pan. Florence's spin on "steak meets butter" not only achieves the same result, but does so during the time when the steak is focused (if you will) on re-absorbing moisture. It's a perfect hack!
Food & Wine also notes that the harder, crusty surface of the seared steak is actually still porous and can absorb butter while it rests. To achieve the desired result, Florence recommends filling a baking dish or large pan with warm butter along with a few sprigs of your favorite aromatic herbs like rosemary or thyme. You can also add chopped or smashed garlic cloves to the butter if you like garlic flavor with your steak. The takeaway? Rest your steaks, for heaven's sakes, and add some extra fat before you dig in!