Carry Over Cooking
David Berman • July 21, 2023
How many times have you cooked something to a perfect temperature only to serve it 10 or 20 minutes later and find it over done?
It is important to realize that whatever you are cooking, and let's focus on steak because I can, is absorbing energy from your cooking source – an oven, a pan, a grill, etc. The energy it absorbs brings it from raw, to medium rare, to medium, to medium well, and then [God Forbid] well done.
The space between those levels of doneness can be measured in a minute or less depending on how hot your cooking source is, the amount of energy it is emitting. A grill top at 600 degrees Fahrenheit will progress through those stages far quicker than one at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
The rate of rise in doneness is also dependent on the size or thickness of the steak and how much energy it is going to take to get it to where you want it done. A 1.5” steak [which is the thickness I always recommend] takes more energy than a 1” steak. Hence one of my reasons for never buying “thin” ribeye or NY strip steaks.
Sidebar: There is a misconception that you take your steaks out of the refrigerator 30 minutes or an hour before you cook them to get them to room temperature. That is false. Do this test – temp your steak in the fridge with your thermapen and then take it out and temp it again 30 minutes later. Let me know if it reached room temperature.
Carry over cooking is what happens when the energy you have placed in your steak continues to cook it after you have taken it off the heat source. Just because you take it off the grill does not mean that the stored energy in the steak all of a sudden disappears and stops exerting its forces. That stored energy will continue to exert itself and continue the cooking process – it will slow down because once off the heat source no more new energy is being entered into the steak.
Think of your car and its gas tank. You fill it up full and you have 400 miles of range when you leave for your trip. You can only turn your car on and cannot turn it off. Your destination is 350 miles away. You get out at mile #350 but your car goes until its source of energy is fully depleted another 50 miles.
That is exactly what happens in steaks and other food you cook. And you need to take that into account. If you don’t, you end up with overcooked steaks, dry overcooked chicken, etc.
Sidebar: If you use your MEATER probe to assist you in cooking your steaks, they do a good job taking that into account re the carry over cooking that will occur automatically.
In general, what I do to aim for a medium rare steak (132-135 degrees) is bring it to 127 or 128 degrees and take it off. With chicken, 155 to 160 degrees, depending on how I am cooking it (spatchcocked, whole rotisserie, etc).
It is far better to undercook steak, you can always add heat to it. There is no reversing the cooking process once you go past medium rare. It is also illegal (at least in my kitchen) to go past medium rare.
Wishes for a great day to all,
Hugs too,
David/
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