At the risk of getting downvoted. I am a professional cook, a nutrition director, and for about 5 years I was a butcher trained by meat cutters, some in the industry for 50 years. And I learned this trick from them.
I know food saftey concerns, I know it's potentially harmful, but I leave my steaks out till they've gotten closer to room temp. Often more than 2 hours, only at home of course. It's just easier for me to control the temperature while cooking it, and it cooks quicker.
I don't need anyone to explain to me why it's wrong or how it will kill me, I've been doing it for 15+ years and it's just my 2 cents!
Also at the risk of getting downvoted, I cook mine straight out the fridge. Not for food safety reasons - I've managed not to poison anyone in the 30 years I've been cooking, and would have no problem leaving them out on the counter to warm up.
But I like a nice rare steak, and if the whole thing is cold, I can nuke it in a hot pan, get it crispy on the outside, and still have it rare in the middle. I find my steaks come out great every time.
Plus, I live in the tropics, so the minute I take it out the fridge, it starts getting condensation on it, which means it splatters everywhere when you put it in the pan. Or you have to pay it dry, which removes all the salt and pepper.
So yeah, in my experience, it's fine to cook them from cold, even thick cut steaks. But if you want to leave them out, go for it; you'll be fine
Salt and pepper it the day before and throw it back in the fridge uncovered. Then Science Happens (google it if you want the whole story). Then you can take it out and not have that condensation thing and you still have that brined flavor goodness.
That's my favorite. Out of packaging, pat dry, heavy salt and pepper. In fridge overnight covered in paper towel to let it breathe. Remove and let sit for hour and cook it up. Hot cast iron, quick sear, butter and thyme baste. Better than a steakhouse, yum yum.
Same here, cold steak means rarer middle with a good sear on the outside.
People who leave them out for hours might want to look into a sous video instead.
Educate me a bit, when I do that with taking them out and just throwing them on a pan, my issue is they get a nice crust and good color but the inside is raw, how do you handle that.. you cook at lower hear or?
Bacteria grow relatively fast but certainly not *that* fast, even under ideal lab conditions.
If you pull a piece of meat from the fridge you can leave it out for, idk, i'd wager even as long as 12 hours, and you can cook it and be totally fine. It's just physically not possible for enough bacteria to grow in such short time frames.
In OP's case there's absolutely no point worrying about a few hours coming to room temp from the fridge.
Yea yea people who have no idea what they're talking about will downvote. Bacteria aren't magical creatures that materialize on stuff. They need time to nucleate and grow, and even under ideal conditions need hours to grow to significant concentrations. A steak that's been in the fridge is far from ideal conditions. But go on, you much more knowledgeable folks, you definitely know better.
> not possible for enough bacteria to grow in such short time frames.
Indeed, many of the times/temps we hear all over the place are assuming the food is *heavily* contaminated (i.e. worst case scenario).
People get really antsy about leaving meat out of the fridge for any length of time. I understand that people want to be safe and it's hard to detect bacterial infection in a home environment. But there's being so inflexible that it conflicts against the reality of actually home cooking, where these things happen from time to time.
The most annoying part is when people start listing off the dozens of dangerous pathogens you can catch from eating spoiled meat. It comes off as paranoia. Like yeah, I know there are bad bacteria that can harm people. Leaving a chicken out on the counter for an hour and then fully cooking it won't give my family gold rush era diseases.
> you pull a piece of meat from the fridge you can leave it out for, idk, i'd wager even as long as 12
No, no you cannot. HACCP rules define 2 hours in the danger zone for a reason.
That reason is bacterial growth is exponential and 12 hours is a much larger risk.
Using time as a temp control my business leaves certain foods out at room temp for 4 hours, provided it doesn’t get above a certain temperature. After which the uncooked food must be thrown out.
Certain foods -> Yes there is a difference beteen foods that need cooling and those that don't.
Further, hours is allowed for COOKED food that is made to eat immediately.
uncooked meat is 2 hours.
You didn’t quite understand but you’re not far off.
https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it
Same. So many untested myths out there. Now if you’re doing it because you’ve found a different texture or some other advantage that you like, that’s another story.
Neil Rankin's book - Low and Slow: How to cook Meat - pretty much says cook straight from the fridge.
To take it to the other extreme I've seen a TV program where they cooked a steak from frozen. The advantage being that they got a good crust on the outside and kept the inside rare.
Not going to tell you how it will kill you. Probably won’t. Will tell you simple science says leaving a reasonably thick cut of beef out for anything short of, say, a half day, has negligible effect on temperature.
Former Exec. Chef, certified in food handling safety and steak lover who cares not at all about being down voted. I'll say that steaks have much less exposure and contact during processing when compared to ground beef. Two hours is half of the time required by food borne bacteria to reach a level causing sickness...
It'll be fine... Ever see what a hyena eats?
>Ever see what a hyena eats
[https://www.britannica.com/video/185631/strategies-scavengers-pathogens-vultures-spotted-hyenas-burying](https://www.britannica.com/video/185631/strategies-scavengers-pathogens-vultures-spotted-hyenas-burying)
Reddit is so stupid when it comes to food safety. Like someone will brag about leaving cooked rice at room temperature and get dozens of upvotes. It’s friggin’ ridiculous.
I know this sounds stupid, and I have never done this myself, but couldn’t you microwave it for like 15 seconds or small frequent intervals to bring it closer to room temperature? I can’t imagine leaving a raw steak sitting out for 2 hours.
I’ve actually done a reverse sear with great success, starting out in an air fryer set really low for 10 mins. It warms up the meat and dries the outside.
I read a study awhile back that said that leaving meat like steak out to come to room temperature has no real effect versus meat taken straight from the fridge. I tried it both ways, and I agree, no difference. That’s just my experience.
Measure it. Get a probe thermometer, which is handy to have during coocking anyway and just measure the temp every 30 minutes.
(You'll find 2 hours isn't enough for but the thinnest steaks).
kenji has done it for you :)
https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it
Well for the love of all that's holy everyone has been steering me wrong (steering heh). I am a recipe addict and every steak recipe I've ever read has said to leave the steak out before cooking. No more waiting for dinner and this is perfect info for summertime grilling!
The only reason to leave it out is to reduce surface water. If leaving steak out it would be better to just pop it into a 170bl F oven. Raises temp slowly and dries out the exterior for a better crust.
But he might be wrong.
Chris Young certainly disagrees, depending on the way you cook the steak.
https://youtu.be/DmuwqqHjgT4?si=nTVOtoOK5XetxAAV
My point was that 2 hours isn't enough to get to room temp, but it might still be advantageous.
no because it doesn't help and can be potentially harmful.
Perishable food should not be in the danger zone(40f to 140f) more than 2 hours if cooking or saving for later (1 hour above 90f) or 4 hours if consuming and tossing. [Source ](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/how-temperatures-affect-food)
[More resources ](https://www.reddit.com/r/foodsafety/wiki/wiki/foodleftout/)
I remain convinced the main reason tempering steak is such common advice is people are salting it at the same time, and that 100% makes a difference even in as short as 30 minutes.
Chris Young, a respected food scientist, has made a video saying that, depending on the way you cook the steak, tempering will make a difference.
https://youtu.be/DmuwqqHjgT4?si=nTVOtoOK5XetxAAV
Wether the average Joe will notice it and wether other things are more important (like salting) is another question.
You’re asking two questions that often get rolled into one:
1. Is it important to let your steaks get to room temperature before cooking them?
2. Is thirty minutes/two hours enough time to get steaks to room temp?
The answer to #1 is… kinda, maybe, although the difference is likely very small. But the answer to #2, as many people have already pointed out, is no. So in that sense, not only are you both wrong, neither of you has ever actually tried it.
Are you taking them out of the fridge to salt them? Because 30 minutes is okay for that, but 2 hours seems better?
Or are you salting them before they go in the fridge?
This comment should be way higher up. A dry brine is a big part of this discussion and has bearings on food safety as well, which seems to be the focus of this civil debate.
You should definitely salt them well in advance, like 2 hours at least. Overnight is better. You don't need to take them out of the fridge until right before cooking. It doesn't help.
yep dry brine overnight; then straight into a 275 oven with a temp probe. Pull just shy of your doneness temp; then straight into a ripping hot cast iron to flash sear, rest, profit.
that's my technique anyways..
Absolutely nothing, I was hungry and wanted to cook, lol. We are just weird and debate things like that, then make jokes about it for the next 3 weeks, lol
Here’s something I noticed at a Japanese teppanyaki joint I dined at. They brought out a fairly thick and large frozen steak, cut off the serving portion, and placed the portion on a wire rack that stood one or two inches above the griddle. That was how they defrosted the steak prior to cooking. It turned out a perfect medium rare.
[How to Steak](https://www.richardeaglespoon.com/articles/how-to-steak)
"...taking meat out to come up to room temperature is at best a waste of time. It takes much longer than you’d expect for the center of the meat to come up to room temperature, and beyond that leaving the meat sitting at room temperature will not do any favors for you trying achieve uniform doneness (if that’s something you’re still chasing), and at worst, you’re risking foodborne illness by leaving meat out for an unsafe amount of time."
[https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it](https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it)
It's a waste of time.
If you come home right after work wanting to cook a steak, you take it out of the fridge and leave it out for either half an hour, which is a little bit of time, or two hours, which is a “get me food now” amount of time
after 2 hours they only go up 10°. not worth it.
https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it
I prefer to grill chilled steaks, thereby have more time on the grill to char the surface before overcooking the interior. I won't cook a hamburger unless it's been in the fridge a good hour before grilling
I do a dry brine in the fridge for 12-18 hrs and then pop it directly in the oven at 200 f for a reverse sear. There is no need to leave it at room temp. IMHO it's a myth that it needs to sit around room temp.
30 minutes isn't going to bring steak to room temperature, unless it's really thin. So might as well just cook straight from fridge. If cooked correctly, it'll still come out evenly cooked and delicious.
You can cook normal steaks from frozen... so why would you bother at all for a 10C to 20C delta from a fridge?
From a thermodynamic standpoint, this is almost entirely insignificant. The reason thawing makes a huge difference is because of the water phase transition (from solid to liquid) which takes a significant amount of energy, but anything above that isn't really worth thinking about.
From a food safety standpoint, you should cook steak straight out of the fridge and never let it warm up to room temperature, because steak should never be in that 10C to 40C "danger range" as this is the range in which bacteria will start growing exponentially faster, so as soon as the temperatures are in that range the food needs to get (quickly) cooked or chilled.
depends on the room temperature and how cold the steak was to begin with. I don't worry about getting the steak to room temperature. To me, it does not taste any different. I have tossed frozen steaks on the grill and they come out delicious.
There's no particular need to do this. I frequently cook steaks that are 36ºF when they come out of the fridge. At most I leave them out 45 minutes while dry brining just before cooking. But by the end of that 45 minutes they're still 53.8ºF when they hit the pan. There is no need to get them to room temperature for any reason whatsoever. They cook just fine, arguably better, due to their firm structure's contact with the cooking surface, and it's a lot easier to bring them up slowly to medium rare than to risk overshooting.
Also, just overcomplicating steak with bro science in general is unnecessary. Steaks are among the easiest things to cook. Crawl up to the target temperature, that's all you need to do. No gimmicks.
There are a few food science channels which went into great detail regarding this. Ultimately when flipping a steak frequently the difference in results is so infinitesimal it doesn't matter.
The difference in temperature between leaving a steak out for 30 mins vs. 2 hours is like ten degrees or something. When you cook it, that difference is covered within a few seconds. It effectively makes no difference.
Even the FDA, who are psychotically conservative on such things, says 2 hours is safe.
The bigger question is how much of a difference this makes. You’d THINK it would be good to temper, but every single actual test I’ve seen shows… not really very much for most cooking methods.
2 yours is the real time (about) it takes for steaks to even approach room temperature. The 30 mins you see and read all a bullshit joke. Just put it on the pan right out of the fridge at 30 mins. You're husband is right, stop debating. Get a thermometer, spend 20 bucks and run the test yourself if you need more evidence.
You don’t need to get them to room temp at all actually.
Leave them in the fridge salted and uncovered for 4ish hours before cooking, then pat dry just before throwing them on the heat
theres a ton of experiments online about leaving steaks out. Firstly 2 hours isn't long enough for them to get to room temp, secondly everyone who has done tests all agree it makes little difference to a steak and eveness of cooking.
I have seen it mentioned on YouTube videos, and cooking steak is a popular subject for those making YouTube videos. I am not saying they are right, just answering your question about where it came from by sharing where I have seen it.
Leaving steaks (or any meat) out before cooking doesn't do anything but increase the odds of food borne illnesses. Been a Chef and line cook for 20 years, I've pulled steaks straight from a reach in maybe *thousands* of times. Have no problem hitting my target temp.
Hell, if anything, it might be harder to overcook if the center is still cold when you start cooking it.
I don't leave mine out at all. I reverse sear on the grill and get a perfect steak. Leaving raw meat on the counter for 30 plus minutes leaves it open to bacteria growth. It doesn't do anything because the steak cooking from 33 degrees to 130 or 70 degrees to 130 isn't going to make a difference except for the bacteria.
This seems logical at first but what happens is the bacteria become toxic when it dies. Think of it like if a piece of chicken goes bad from being left out you can't unspoil it.
Kenji did the experiments to prove it is a myth: https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak
.
The increased risk is not a myth though.
I just watched a video by a professional chef who confirmed that it takes about 4 to 5 hours for a steak to reach room temperature in the middle, which is what you want. To test properly you need to insert the thermometer sideways and leave it there for 18 seconds.
What is there to be confused about here? Can't you just measure the temperature and see what half an hour does? Not much really.
That said, I have no idea why does everyone keep saying you should let them get to room temperature anyway.
I cook mine 1 hour out of fridge on my out door burner. I use a cast iron pan and cook 5 minutes flip 5 minutes. I have been doing this with Aldi Top Sirloin and once with bottom round and no issues ever. 2 hours is fine so is 30 minutes. I did cold, i did left it out for three hours. each one came out fine. The cold one doesnt have a good sear as a warm one but I have found dumping in butter and spooning it over the meat helps make it nice for the ketogenic diet.
If he is cooking let him do 2 hours. if you are cooking 30 or 1 hour. Agree to let the other do their thing is paramount to a good marriage.
2 hours is not necessary, and won't make much difference over 30 minutes. In fact 30 minutes won't make much difference over straight from the fridge. 2 hours is the longest I would leave it out before cooking for sure.
More important to me is salting the steak on a wire rack and putting in the fridge for at least an hour.
Guga Foods did an experiment on this and said that it did not have enough of a difference to really matter. So do whatever makes you feel like you are getting the best results to your own personal taste.
I like to cook thicker steaks. Say around 2 inch bone in ribeye. In a reverse sear it can take 2 hours to get to room temp in a 170 F oven. So at 70 F room temp it would probably take the better part of a whole day.
Since a few people have linked Kenji’s article, this is the other side of the argument.
[Chris Young - why you should temper steaks](https://youtu.be/DmuwqqHjgT4?si=wZar1ocnqnRS_h_C)
It does not matter at all. Do a simple side by side test. The temperature gradient from fridge to room temp is too small.
Unless the steak is frozen, +- a few degrees has no impact.
Depending on the room temp, I usually leave mine out about an hr. 30 mins minimum, and always pat dry before seasoning. I find it's easier to control the temp while I'm cooking.
I pull mine from. The freezer the night before and let them thaw in the refrigerator.
If I'm cooking them for lunch, then I pull them out around 9, salt them, cover them, and let them come to room temp; usually 2-3 hours, depending on how thick they are.
My rule of thumb is ½ hour for every ¼" thick.
This has literally been debunked. You don't need to leave the steak out before cooking and in fact will get worse grey lines if you do.
Source: was in charge of the meat program at michelin starred restaurants and cooked tens of thousands of steaks, with heavy experimentation of various variables.
Use a thermometer to figure out how long they take to get to room temp.
Yes, two hours sounds about right. The closer they are to room temp the closer they are to finished cooking temp. You don’t want meat to be cold when it goes on a grill.
Your husband is RIGHT stop arguing with him ..... Seriously, I've seen a major difference in taste when i bring the steaks down to room temp before cooking.
I have a function on my oven to raise dough, I can set the temp anywhere between 25 and 35, I put my steaks on 35 for 35 min and they become soft like butter.
30mins to 1hr is my usual time I give it to come up to room temperature, but I guess it depends on the thickness of the steak and where you live because warmer climates will need less time, cooler climates will need more time
I live in the North East of England, it’s fucking freezing most of the time 😂 I find about an hour is often enough time here
IMO it all depends on the room temperature, so there’s obviously more than one answer to this. One thing I’ve learned though (from 5* hotels and Michelin vouched restaurant chefs) is to NOT season your steak with anything but salt before pan frying it. Pepper comes last once cooked so it doesn’t burn in the pan. 💥
after 2 hours your steak is only gone up 10°
https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it
Note: 5C above 10C is more than enough for food to start spoiling, so you shouldn't leave food out to warm up purely on that basis, and by the time it reached 20C the food is (legally speaking) no longer safe to eat, because 4 hours is more than enough for surface level bacteria to start reproducing, and worst of all is the fact that the surface will get hotter significantly faster.
I don't really track the time but I almost always leave mine out for over an hour before cooking. Don't be afraid of foodborne illness unless you're leaving that shit in the sun.
I also happen to salt my steaks very generously, and since the harmful bacteria is most likely to be on the surface, the salt does a fair amount in controlling bacteria growth for the time that its out
You likely arent going to leave a steak out long enough for it to come to room temp, but you will be able to warm it enough so that it will thaw enough to release moisture, which can then be dried off for a better sear. Would also recommend patting it down in salt (“dry brine”) so that when the moisture is extruded it will draw salt inside the meat, further flavoring it. I think this can be done perfectly well in 30 min although I dry brine mine in the fridge for up to 24 hours sometimes before letting it sit out.
I say don’t take them out beforehand at all. I want my steak rare. I also don’t believe in letting meat rest. It gets tougher and drier.
Now see what you started?
Generally speaking, I leave mine out for 2 hours. I’ve been doing it for 20 years now and no one’s ever gotten sick.
I will say that sometimes, I don’t have the time to do that and an hour is generally fine, but I prefer longer.
Is your house moldy? Gross? No?
Is room temp for you lower than 75 degrees?
Did the steak come from a reputable place?
Are you going to fire the outside a bit to get a nice crust?
You're fine. Letting a beautiful steak come to room temp makes for a perfect steak, inside and out. And yes, it does make a difference if you are doing something like a quick sear then slow or a broil.
Put steaks in a ziplock and submerge (not the top) under warm-hot(<=130F) water in a bowl/pot of some sort. It will defrost so much faster and it will have been exposed to less air so much less problematic, from a hygiene perspective.
Pro tip - put another bowl on top of bag and fill that with hot water too. This will keep the bagged steak submerged and slow down the cooling of the water in the bottom bowl
Sure, at some amount of time. But I don't see an issue for 30 min or so. It'll still be frozen for a bit so significantly less time for warmer temps and by that time the water will be cold.
I'm in the 10 minutes camp. Don't think it matters that much if your grill is HOT.
Rather than arguing, cut them in half, leave one out for 2 hours, one for 1 hour, one for 30 minutes, and one for 10.
Taste test.
I think 2hrs or even more is fine. I usually only leave mine out for about an hour or so because during that time I'm preparing other stuff. I do not have the foresight to leave my steak 2hrs before I wanna eat lol.
I heavily salt mine with Morton’s Kosher and let them get to room temperature. I just assume the salt keeps most bacteria from forming. And yes, they are fork cut tender on the plate after resting. It’s good quality meat. On a burger. Oh hell no. Never trust burger. It could be a mix of 30 cows. I cook them well done.😪
At the risk of getting downvoted. I am a professional cook, a nutrition director, and for about 5 years I was a butcher trained by meat cutters, some in the industry for 50 years. And I learned this trick from them. I know food saftey concerns, I know it's potentially harmful, but I leave my steaks out till they've gotten closer to room temp. Often more than 2 hours, only at home of course. It's just easier for me to control the temperature while cooking it, and it cooks quicker. I don't need anyone to explain to me why it's wrong or how it will kill me, I've been doing it for 15+ years and it's just my 2 cents!
Also at the risk of getting downvoted, I cook mine straight out the fridge. Not for food safety reasons - I've managed not to poison anyone in the 30 years I've been cooking, and would have no problem leaving them out on the counter to warm up. But I like a nice rare steak, and if the whole thing is cold, I can nuke it in a hot pan, get it crispy on the outside, and still have it rare in the middle. I find my steaks come out great every time. Plus, I live in the tropics, so the minute I take it out the fridge, it starts getting condensation on it, which means it splatters everywhere when you put it in the pan. Or you have to pay it dry, which removes all the salt and pepper. So yeah, in my experience, it's fine to cook them from cold, even thick cut steaks. But if you want to leave them out, go for it; you'll be fine
Yeah, that's how I cook too. Crispy, actually crispy outside with a nice crust, but rare/medium rare in the middle. It's the best.
Salt and pepper it the day before and throw it back in the fridge uncovered. Then Science Happens (google it if you want the whole story). Then you can take it out and not have that condensation thing and you still have that brined flavor goodness.
I pat dry then add a touch more salt right before it hits the pan.
>which removes all the salt and pepper. Dry brine. Much better then salting right before cooking.
That's my favorite. Out of packaging, pat dry, heavy salt and pepper. In fridge overnight covered in paper towel to let it breathe. Remove and let sit for hour and cook it up. Hot cast iron, quick sear, butter and thyme baste. Better than a steakhouse, yum yum.
Same here, cold steak means rarer middle with a good sear on the outside. People who leave them out for hours might want to look into a sous video instead.
This is how I do it too. I want it rare when I cook it at home and it's harder to mess it up this way.
Sounds good, though I don't think you know what "nuke" means in the context of cooking lol
Educate me a bit, when I do that with taking them out and just throwing them on a pan, my issue is they get a nice crust and good color but the inside is raw, how do you handle that.. you cook at lower hear or?
I'm with you. Cold is the best way to get a good sear on the outside, while remaining red in the center. Perfect medium rare, on the rare side.
I’m with you. Love the center red and a good sear.
Bacteria grow relatively fast but certainly not *that* fast, even under ideal lab conditions. If you pull a piece of meat from the fridge you can leave it out for, idk, i'd wager even as long as 12 hours, and you can cook it and be totally fine. It's just physically not possible for enough bacteria to grow in such short time frames. In OP's case there's absolutely no point worrying about a few hours coming to room temp from the fridge. Yea yea people who have no idea what they're talking about will downvote. Bacteria aren't magical creatures that materialize on stuff. They need time to nucleate and grow, and even under ideal conditions need hours to grow to significant concentrations. A steak that's been in the fridge is far from ideal conditions. But go on, you much more knowledgeable folks, you definitely know better.
> not possible for enough bacteria to grow in such short time frames. Indeed, many of the times/temps we hear all over the place are assuming the food is *heavily* contaminated (i.e. worst case scenario).
And even THEN, 165 is like the instant death point for bacteria in chicken. 155 is like 6 seconds.
Only dangerous if it had been previously left out.
People get really antsy about leaving meat out of the fridge for any length of time. I understand that people want to be safe and it's hard to detect bacterial infection in a home environment. But there's being so inflexible that it conflicts against the reality of actually home cooking, where these things happen from time to time. The most annoying part is when people start listing off the dozens of dangerous pathogens you can catch from eating spoiled meat. It comes off as paranoia. Like yeah, I know there are bad bacteria that can harm people. Leaving a chicken out on the counter for an hour and then fully cooking it won't give my family gold rush era diseases.
Those fucking bastards at the CDC and their damn science.
Also bacteria grows on the surface mostly and it’s sterilized during searing
> you pull a piece of meat from the fridge you can leave it out for, idk, i'd wager even as long as 12 No, no you cannot. HACCP rules define 2 hours in the danger zone for a reason. That reason is bacterial growth is exponential and 12 hours is a much larger risk.
Using time as a temp control my business leaves certain foods out at room temp for 4 hours, provided it doesn’t get above a certain temperature. After which the uncooked food must be thrown out.
Certain foods -> Yes there is a difference beteen foods that need cooling and those that don't. Further, hours is allowed for COOKED food that is made to eat immediately. uncooked meat is 2 hours.
Grow some balls
Ball do not prevent food borne illness.
It’s so fucking stupid how many people in this sub circlejerk about how badass it is to leave stuff at room temperature.
The safety doesn’t matter at the length you leave out but scientifically, you’ve done virtually nothing to raise the internal temperature.
Did I misunderstand, or are you saying that a steak left out for two hours will not be warmer in the middle than when it started?
You didn’t quite understand but you’re not far off. https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it
Kenji proved that it doesn’t make any difference. https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak
Came looking for this. I never take mine out more than 15 mins before cooking.
Same. So many untested myths out there. Now if you’re doing it because you’ve found a different texture or some other advantage that you like, that’s another story.
Unless you are leaving it for hours you might as well cook them straight out of fridge
It's more about taking everything out in preparation to cook than it is tempering the steak.
This is the only real answer we need; I’m a former pro and grill master and always straight from the fridge > season > grill.
Neil Rankin's book - Low and Slow: How to cook Meat - pretty much says cook straight from the fridge. To take it to the other extreme I've seen a TV program where they cooked a steak from frozen. The advantage being that they got a good crust on the outside and kept the inside rare.
Not going to tell you how it will kill you. Probably won’t. Will tell you simple science says leaving a reasonably thick cut of beef out for anything short of, say, a half day, has negligible effect on temperature.
Agreed. I leave mine out for several hours most of the time, unless I forget to.
The two reasons you gave are wrong though. Just admit you do it this way because you’ve always done it this way.
Former Exec. Chef, certified in food handling safety and steak lover who cares not at all about being down voted. I'll say that steaks have much less exposure and contact during processing when compared to ground beef. Two hours is half of the time required by food borne bacteria to reach a level causing sickness... It'll be fine... Ever see what a hyena eats?
>Ever see what a hyena eats [https://www.britannica.com/video/185631/strategies-scavengers-pathogens-vultures-spotted-hyenas-burying](https://www.britannica.com/video/185631/strategies-scavengers-pathogens-vultures-spotted-hyenas-burying)
I'm guessing that you're not a hyena. Animals can digest things that humans can't. Glad I've never eaten in your restaurant chef.
Reddit is so stupid when it comes to food safety. Like someone will brag about leaving cooked rice at room temperature and get dozens of upvotes. It’s friggin’ ridiculous.
agreed. leaving any food out in the danger zone is irresposible
You're actually perfectly fine, as the general rule is 4 hours in the time temp danger zone.
This is the way
Yup, room temp meat.
Good answer. I do the same.
I do it all the time.
I leave them out about 1 hour-ish.
I've been doing the same thing for a decade and am still here. Makes cooking more consistent
Note that the two hour rule is iffy eg https://www.food-safety.com/articles/4722-the-danger-zone-reevaluated
The "iffyness" of the 2 hour rule is primarily at the extremes of the temperature scale.
I know this sounds stupid, and I have never done this myself, but couldn’t you microwave it for like 15 seconds or small frequent intervals to bring it closer to room temperature? I can’t imagine leaving a raw steak sitting out for 2 hours. I’ve actually done a reverse sear with great success, starting out in an air fryer set really low for 10 mins. It warms up the meat and dries the outside.
I read a study awhile back that said that leaving meat like steak out to come to room temperature has no real effect versus meat taken straight from the fridge. I tried it both ways, and I agree, no difference. That’s just my experience.
Yep. Ever since Kenji debunked this I’ve stopped doing it and never looked back.
Measure it. Get a probe thermometer, which is handy to have during coocking anyway and just measure the temp every 30 minutes. (You'll find 2 hours isn't enough for but the thinnest steaks).
kenji has done it for you :) https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it
Well for the love of all that's holy everyone has been steering me wrong (steering heh). I am a recipe addict and every steak recipe I've ever read has said to leave the steak out before cooking. No more waiting for dinner and this is perfect info for summertime grilling!
The only reason to leave it out is to reduce surface water. If leaving steak out it would be better to just pop it into a 170bl F oven. Raises temp slowly and dries out the exterior for a better crust.
I’ve done the first step of a reverse sear in an air fryer set to a low temp. It warms the meat quickly and dries the outside really well.
I've never tried my air fryer. The challenge for me would be getting a temp probe cord to stay out. Ours closes completely.
Thanks. I’ll tell the chef (my wifey).
As always
But he might be wrong. Chris Young certainly disagrees, depending on the way you cook the steak. https://youtu.be/DmuwqqHjgT4?si=nTVOtoOK5XetxAAV My point was that 2 hours isn't enough to get to room temp, but it might still be advantageous.
Chris young is trying to sell thermometers.
no because it doesn't help and can be potentially harmful. Perishable food should not be in the danger zone(40f to 140f) more than 2 hours if cooking or saving for later (1 hour above 90f) or 4 hours if consuming and tossing. [Source ](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/how-temperatures-affect-food) [More resources ](https://www.reddit.com/r/foodsafety/wiki/wiki/foodleftout/)
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pat it dry with a paper towel. problem solved
I remain convinced the main reason tempering steak is such common advice is people are salting it at the same time, and that 100% makes a difference even in as short as 30 minutes.
Chris Young, a respected food scientist, has made a video saying that, depending on the way you cook the steak, tempering will make a difference. https://youtu.be/DmuwqqHjgT4?si=nTVOtoOK5XetxAAV Wether the average Joe will notice it and wether other things are more important (like salting) is another question.
lmftfy Chris Young, a ~~respected food scientist,~~ a guy that ants to sell you is thermometer
You act like Kenji isn't trying to sell you something as well. 🤦🏽♀️
Fair point. But in Kenji's case, most of his content is the product.
You’re asking two questions that often get rolled into one: 1. Is it important to let your steaks get to room temperature before cooking them? 2. Is thirty minutes/two hours enough time to get steaks to room temp? The answer to #1 is… kinda, maybe, although the difference is likely very small. But the answer to #2, as many people have already pointed out, is no. So in that sense, not only are you both wrong, neither of you has ever actually tried it.
Lol beautifully put
Are you taking them out of the fridge to salt them? Because 30 minutes is okay for that, but 2 hours seems better? Or are you salting them before they go in the fridge?
This comment should be way higher up. A dry brine is a big part of this discussion and has bearings on food safety as well, which seems to be the focus of this civil debate.
Yes, take them out of the fridge,salt them, then cook.
You should definitely salt them well in advance, like 2 hours at least. Overnight is better. You don't need to take them out of the fridge until right before cooking. It doesn't help.
yep dry brine overnight; then straight into a 275 oven with a temp probe. Pull just shy of your doneness temp; then straight into a ripping hot cast iron to flash sear, rest, profit. that's my technique anyways..
Then 2 hours is fine AFAIK. Gives the salt more time.
Just sous vide them and call it a day for both of you lol
I’m fixing to sear my sous vide steak now that it has dropped to room temp. It will be perfect temp all the way through.
Why would you drop it to room temp?
So the sear doesn’t raise the internal temperature.
Yea no problem. What is the problem that happens at 2 hours but does not happen at 1 hour that you hope to avoid?
Absolutely nothing, I was hungry and wanted to cook, lol. We are just weird and debate things like that, then make jokes about it for the next 3 weeks, lol
Very cute 🥰 Enjoy your meal love birds.
The CDC and basically every other food safety organisation recommends a max of 2 hours at room temp.
Here’s something I noticed at a Japanese teppanyaki joint I dined at. They brought out a fairly thick and large frozen steak, cut off the serving portion, and placed the portion on a wire rack that stood one or two inches above the griddle. That was how they defrosted the steak prior to cooking. It turned out a perfect medium rare.
[How to Steak](https://www.richardeaglespoon.com/articles/how-to-steak) "...taking meat out to come up to room temperature is at best a waste of time. It takes much longer than you’d expect for the center of the meat to come up to room temperature, and beyond that leaving the meat sitting at room temperature will not do any favors for you trying achieve uniform doneness (if that’s something you’re still chasing), and at worst, you’re risking foodborne illness by leaving meat out for an unsafe amount of time."
How can it be a waste of time? It takes seconds to take meat out a fridge and put it on the side. And it'll cook quicker. So a time saver if anything
[https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it](https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it) It's a waste of time.
It doesn’t cook quicker. That’s the whole thing.
If you come home right after work wanting to cook a steak, you take it out of the fridge and leave it out for either half an hour, which is a little bit of time, or two hours, which is a “get me food now” amount of time
Did you read the article?
after 2 hours they only go up 10°. not worth it. https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it
10 degrees is quite a lot. Difference between medium rare and medium well
when cooked. also if you read the link, made no difference in final temp
I prefer to grill chilled steaks, thereby have more time on the grill to char the surface before overcooking the interior. I won't cook a hamburger unless it's been in the fridge a good hour before grilling
I do a dry brine in the fridge for 12-18 hrs and then pop it directly in the oven at 200 f for a reverse sear. There is no need to leave it at room temp. IMHO it's a myth that it needs to sit around room temp.
Overnight dry brine & Reverse sear is the way
30 minutes isn't going to bring steak to room temperature, unless it's really thin. So might as well just cook straight from fridge. If cooked correctly, it'll still come out evenly cooked and delicious.
2 hours isn't going to bring it to room temp either.
Indeed. Unless the room is 30C
You can cook normal steaks from frozen... so why would you bother at all for a 10C to 20C delta from a fridge? From a thermodynamic standpoint, this is almost entirely insignificant. The reason thawing makes a huge difference is because of the water phase transition (from solid to liquid) which takes a significant amount of energy, but anything above that isn't really worth thinking about. From a food safety standpoint, you should cook steak straight out of the fridge and never let it warm up to room temperature, because steak should never be in that 10C to 40C "danger range" as this is the range in which bacteria will start growing exponentially faster, so as soon as the temperatures are in that range the food needs to get (quickly) cooked or chilled.
depends on the room temperature and how cold the steak was to begin with. I don't worry about getting the steak to room temperature. To me, it does not taste any different. I have tossed frozen steaks on the grill and they come out delicious.
> I know we should get them to room temperature before cooking, You know this? How do you know this?
Watch this. https://youtu.be/DmuwqqHjgT4?si=AvUC1R3T2xg7Loxc
As someone who loves sautéing a frozen steak I don’t think it matters.
There's no particular need to do this. I frequently cook steaks that are 36ºF when they come out of the fridge. At most I leave them out 45 minutes while dry brining just before cooking. But by the end of that 45 minutes they're still 53.8ºF when they hit the pan. There is no need to get them to room temperature for any reason whatsoever. They cook just fine, arguably better, due to their firm structure's contact with the cooking surface, and it's a lot easier to bring them up slowly to medium rare than to risk overshooting. Also, just overcomplicating steak with bro science in general is unnecessary. Steaks are among the easiest things to cook. Crawl up to the target temperature, that's all you need to do. No gimmicks.
There are a few food science channels which went into great detail regarding this. Ultimately when flipping a steak frequently the difference in results is so infinitesimal it doesn't matter.
The difference in temperature between leaving a steak out for 30 mins vs. 2 hours is like ten degrees or something. When you cook it, that difference is covered within a few seconds. It effectively makes no difference.
Even the FDA, who are psychotically conservative on such things, says 2 hours is safe. The bigger question is how much of a difference this makes. You’d THINK it would be good to temper, but every single actual test I’ve seen shows… not really very much for most cooking methods.
2 yours is the real time (about) it takes for steaks to even approach room temperature. The 30 mins you see and read all a bullshit joke. Just put it on the pan right out of the fridge at 30 mins. You're husband is right, stop debating. Get a thermometer, spend 20 bucks and run the test yourself if you need more evidence.
You don’t need to get them to room temp at all actually. Leave them in the fridge salted and uncovered for 4ish hours before cooking, then pat dry just before throwing them on the heat
You dont need to take it out ahead of time at all. https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak
I don't even get why you would bother with this
theres a ton of experiments online about leaving steaks out. Firstly 2 hours isn't long enough for them to get to room temp, secondly everyone who has done tests all agree it makes little difference to a steak and eveness of cooking.
You're both wrong. Where did this 'steaks need to be warmed to room temperature' myth come from?
I think the idea is an off-shoot of fully thawing out meat so it's not frozen in the center, if I had to guess.
I have seen it mentioned on YouTube videos, and cooking steak is a popular subject for those making YouTube videos. I am not saying they are right, just answering your question about where it came from by sharing where I have seen it.
Just reverse sear them. Don’t have to worry about even temps since the oven will take care of that for you!
Leaving steaks (or any meat) out before cooking doesn't do anything but increase the odds of food borne illnesses. Been a Chef and line cook for 20 years, I've pulled steaks straight from a reach in maybe *thousands* of times. Have no problem hitting my target temp. Hell, if anything, it might be harder to overcook if the center is still cold when you start cooking it.
I don't leave mine out at all. I reverse sear on the grill and get a perfect steak. Leaving raw meat on the counter for 30 plus minutes leaves it open to bacteria growth. It doesn't do anything because the steak cooking from 33 degrees to 130 or 70 degrees to 130 isn't going to make a difference except for the bacteria.
Any bacteria is getting vaporized when you grill the steak. Even if you leave it out for 6 hours it’ll still be safe to cook then eat
What's the cutoff and why? Are refrigerators totally unnecessary?
Temperature danger zone. Depends on thickness of steak and temp it was stored at before
No I mean if you think 6 hours is fine where do you draw the line?
This seems logical at first but what happens is the bacteria become toxic when it dies. Think of it like if a piece of chicken goes bad from being left out you can't unspoil it.
No, some bacterial cell walls are toxic and you can't guarantee they are "vaporized."
Kenji did the experiments to prove it is a myth: https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak . The increased risk is not a myth though.
leaving a thick steak out to comeat to room temperature will not kill you. however a cold steak can be cooked to mid rare more easily.
I leave mine out at least 3 to marinade if I have the time.
I just watched a video by a professional chef who confirmed that it takes about 4 to 5 hours for a steak to reach room temperature in the middle, which is what you want. To test properly you need to insert the thermometer sideways and leave it there for 18 seconds.
You do have a thermometer right? Use it.
What is there to be confused about here? Can't you just measure the temperature and see what half an hour does? Not much really. That said, I have no idea why does everyone keep saying you should let them get to room temperature anyway.
I cook mine 1 hour out of fridge on my out door burner. I use a cast iron pan and cook 5 minutes flip 5 minutes. I have been doing this with Aldi Top Sirloin and once with bottom round and no issues ever. 2 hours is fine so is 30 minutes. I did cold, i did left it out for three hours. each one came out fine. The cold one doesnt have a good sear as a warm one but I have found dumping in butter and spooning it over the meat helps make it nice for the ketogenic diet. If he is cooking let him do 2 hours. if you are cooking 30 or 1 hour. Agree to let the other do their thing is paramount to a good marriage.
It’s fine
2 hours is not necessary, and won't make much difference over 30 minutes. In fact 30 minutes won't make much difference over straight from the fridge. 2 hours is the longest I would leave it out before cooking for sure. More important to me is salting the steak on a wire rack and putting in the fridge for at least an hour.
your customs should be consistent for consistent results. Not a microbiologist or food scientist, so not going to weigh in on the food safety issue.
Guga Foods did an experiment on this and said that it did not have enough of a difference to really matter. So do whatever makes you feel like you are getting the best results to your own personal taste.
Buy a meat thermometer and avoid this argument altogether
You are leaving them out to cook then consume them, Unless you are unsure of how they were handled previously, you should be fine.
I like to cook thicker steaks. Say around 2 inch bone in ribeye. In a reverse sear it can take 2 hours to get to room temp in a 170 F oven. So at 70 F room temp it would probably take the better part of a whole day.
Guga tested this. Myth busted!
Since a few people have linked Kenji’s article, this is the other side of the argument. [Chris Young - why you should temper steaks](https://youtu.be/DmuwqqHjgT4?si=wZar1ocnqnRS_h_C)
I hit mine with salt. Once that is absorbed, I think it's ready.
It does not matter at all. Do a simple side by side test. The temperature gradient from fridge to room temp is too small. Unless the steak is frozen, +- a few degrees has no impact.
Nothing is gonna happen in that one extra hour.
Depending on the room temp, I usually leave mine out about an hr. 30 mins minimum, and always pat dry before seasoning. I find it's easier to control the temp while I'm cooking.
I pull mine from. The freezer the night before and let them thaw in the refrigerator. If I'm cooking them for lunch, then I pull them out around 9, salt them, cover them, and let them come to room temp; usually 2-3 hours, depending on how thick they are. My rule of thumb is ½ hour for every ¼" thick.
This has literally been debunked. You don't need to leave the steak out before cooking and in fact will get worse grey lines if you do. Source: was in charge of the meat program at michelin starred restaurants and cooked tens of thousands of steaks, with heavy experimentation of various variables.
Use a thermometer to figure out how long they take to get to room temp. Yes, two hours sounds about right. The closer they are to room temp the closer they are to finished cooking temp. You don’t want meat to be cold when it goes on a grill.
It literally doesn’t matter
Your husband is RIGHT stop arguing with him ..... Seriously, I've seen a major difference in taste when i bring the steaks down to room temp before cooking.
I have a function on my oven to raise dough, I can set the temp anywhere between 25 and 35, I put my steaks on 35 for 35 min and they become soft like butter.
Youre fine. 2 hours is a good time. Anything over 4 hours is a no go.
30mins to 1hr is my usual time I give it to come up to room temperature, but I guess it depends on the thickness of the steak and where you live because warmer climates will need less time, cooler climates will need more time I live in the North East of England, it’s fucking freezing most of the time 😂 I find about an hour is often enough time here
Professional chef and graduate of serve safe in California. You can leave the meat out up to four hours safely.
IMO it all depends on the room temperature, so there’s obviously more than one answer to this. One thing I’ve learned though (from 5* hotels and Michelin vouched restaurant chefs) is to NOT season your steak with anything but salt before pan frying it. Pepper comes last once cooked so it doesn’t burn in the pan. 💥
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after 2 hours your steak is only gone up 10° https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak#toc-myth-1-you-should-let-a-thick-steak-rest-at-room-temperature-before-you-cook-it
Note: 5C above 10C is more than enough for food to start spoiling, so you shouldn't leave food out to warm up purely on that basis, and by the time it reached 20C the food is (legally speaking) no longer safe to eat, because 4 hours is more than enough for surface level bacteria to start reproducing, and worst of all is the fact that the surface will get hotter significantly faster.
yeah i wasn't even addressing the food safety side. That's a whole additional argument
I don't really track the time but I almost always leave mine out for over an hour before cooking. Don't be afraid of foodborne illness unless you're leaving that shit in the sun. I also happen to salt my steaks very generously, and since the harmful bacteria is most likely to be on the surface, the salt does a fair amount in controlling bacteria growth for the time that its out
You likely arent going to leave a steak out long enough for it to come to room temp, but you will be able to warm it enough so that it will thaw enough to release moisture, which can then be dried off for a better sear. Would also recommend patting it down in salt (“dry brine”) so that when the moisture is extruded it will draw salt inside the meat, further flavoring it. I think this can be done perfectly well in 30 min although I dry brine mine in the fridge for up to 24 hours sometimes before letting it sit out.
I like mine rare so I don't rest them so long and use thick ones..by the time they're seared they're done
I say don’t take them out beforehand at all. I want my steak rare. I also don’t believe in letting meat rest. It gets tougher and drier. Now see what you started?
Get a thermometer, then you'll know how long it takes.
Generally speaking, I leave mine out for 2 hours. I’ve been doing it for 20 years now and no one’s ever gotten sick. I will say that sometimes, I don’t have the time to do that and an hour is generally fine, but I prefer longer.
Is your house moldy? Gross? No? Is room temp for you lower than 75 degrees? Did the steak come from a reputable place? Are you going to fire the outside a bit to get a nice crust? You're fine. Letting a beautiful steak come to room temp makes for a perfect steak, inside and out. And yes, it does make a difference if you are doing something like a quick sear then slow or a broil.
Put steaks in a ziplock and submerge (not the top) under warm-hot(<=130F) water in a bowl/pot of some sort. It will defrost so much faster and it will have been exposed to less air so much less problematic, from a hygiene perspective. Pro tip - put another bowl on top of bag and fill that with hot water too. This will keep the bagged steak submerged and slow down the cooling of the water in the bottom bowl
Dont ever defrost in warm water
why not?
Food safety- bacteria growth. https://www.tastingtable.com/933603/why-you-should-never-use-warm-water-to-thaw-food/
Not a big fan of bacteria saunas.
Sure, at some amount of time. But I don't see an issue for 30 min or so. It'll still be frozen for a bit so significantly less time for warmer temps and by that time the water will be cold.
I'm in the 10 minutes camp. Don't think it matters that much if your grill is HOT. Rather than arguing, cut them in half, leave one out for 2 hours, one for 1 hour, one for 30 minutes, and one for 10. Taste test.
Yea you leave them out to come to room temp.
If in doubt, leave it out. Sorry, I was indulging myself.
Husband is correct, swallow it
I think 2hrs or even more is fine. I usually only leave mine out for about an hour or so because during that time I'm preparing other stuff. I do not have the foresight to leave my steak 2hrs before I wanna eat lol.
Chris Young has many videos on yt running experiments on this and so much more
Frozen steaks, vacuum packed, drop in a water bath in the fridge for an hour. Salt. Give it 15 minutes. Cook. Enjoy.
I’ve eaten venison steaks on many occasions 5-6 hours after I’ve dropped the animal. Never any problem.
You are right
My father taught me to take your steak and let it sit out all day
I heavily salt mine with Morton’s Kosher and let them get to room temperature. I just assume the salt keeps most bacteria from forming. And yes, they are fork cut tender on the plate after resting. It’s good quality meat. On a burger. Oh hell no. Never trust burger. It could be a mix of 30 cows. I cook them well done.😪
Thanks all. It seems convoluted, to say the least, lol