Why Meat Needs Its Rest After Cooking
Biting into a perfectly cooked tenderloin steak is such a pure eating experience. There’s something about honoring the inner carnivore that is immensely satisfying to the palette. This deeply satisfying experience can be diminished if you don’t allow your steak to rest properly before indulging. During the cooking process the protein fibers within meat first loosen and then become smaller and firmer the longer its cooked. During this process, the moisture previously contained within the protein’s cellular makeup is pushed out of the fibers and into the center. When the meat is removed from the source of heat and begins to cool, its protein fibers are able to relax again—allowing the expelled moisture to seep back into the meat and be reabsorbed. Preserving this moisture is a critical component to enjoying a tender, juicy piece of meat. When you cut into your tenderloin steak without allowing it to rest, the liquid collagen center that should be reabsorbed instead leaks o