Leave it rest

corblimey

So when I do a roast beef or chicken, I let it rest for a period of time, covered in tin foil. I also leave steak to rest on a hot plate for 5-10mins after cooking. It seems to be accepted wisdom to do this, but does it apply to all meats cooked in all ways? If I do a stir fry, should I let the meat sit? What about grilled hamburgers? Pork chops on the pan? Chicken breasts in the oven?

Basically, does this method help all meats to "recover" the same way it helps a big roast animal?

Tree

The size of the cut will determine the need to rest. It allows the juices to redistribute across the meat. When meat is cooked, a variety of reactions occur, muscle fibres tighten as the actin and mysoin are denatured by heat. This squeezing of the muscle squeezes out water, so you have all the juices in the middle and on the pan. Resting wont recover the pan juices but should allow middle juices to juice the outer portions of meat.

Naturally, the difference from middle to outside on a rib roast is singificantly bigger than on a bitesize chicken chunk from a stirfry.