# Bringing cold steaks up to room temp



## roadfix (Feb 28, 2012)

Quite by accident last night I discovered a very efficient way to bring cold steaks up to room temperature before grilling.  I simply placed a large piece of steak on a thick cast iron griddle and in less than half hour the steak reached near room temp.  The cast iron at room temp sucked all the chill out of the meat.  
Perhaps this is a commonly used technique but it was completely new to me.  I don't know why I didn't think of this before.  It's simple physics.


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## Rocklobster (Feb 28, 2012)

They used to sell this pewter tray that was marketed as a Magic Defrosting Tray. I picked one up at a yard sale once. I think I ended up using it under the trailer hitch of my boat trailer to stop it from sinking into my gravel parking lot.


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## Andy M. (Feb 28, 2012)

A thick slab of aluminum would work even better but most people don't have a thick slab of aluminum hanging around.


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## Kayelle (Feb 28, 2012)

I have a thick slab of aluminum I use to defrost meat, and it works slick.   It was a leftover piece from building a race boat in my former life. 

I never thought of using it  for bringing meat up to room temp, but it makes sense. Thanks Road.


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## roadfix (Feb 28, 2012)

A thick slab of aluminum isn't cheap but is a better conductor of heat.


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## Andy M. (Feb 28, 2012)

I have found my countertop material (engineered stone), is a great conductor and works onders in defrosting small items.


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## FrankZ (Feb 28, 2012)

We have an enameled metal counter for our sink.  It works a treat.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 28, 2012)

I recalled an odd bit of trivia, and just verified it online. In metals the best electrical conductors are also the best thermal conductors. In order of best first they are:

1. silver
2. copper
3. gold
4. brass
5. aluminum
6. iron
7. steel

Of course there are good non-metallic thermal conductors too.


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## Aunt Bea (Feb 28, 2012)

How about a cast aluminum pan?

I have an old Magnalite roaster, I will have to give it a try!


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## gadzooks (Feb 28, 2012)

Geez...I'm gonna have to spread out the gold bars every time a I want to grill a steak...and then clean them before I put them back under the b...you didn't see that.


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## buckytom (Feb 28, 2012)

lol, zooks.

i'm curious: is the reason you bring a steak to room temp before grilling so it is more easily cooked medium to well done?


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 28, 2012)

gadzooks said:


> Geez...I'm gonna have to spread out the gold bars every time a I want to grill a steak...and then clean them before I put them back under the b...you didn't see that.



Copper and silver are better. Or just use your cast iron pan and plan ahead...



buckytom said:


> lol, zooks.
> 
> i'm curious: is the reason you bring a steak to room temp before grilling so it is more easily cooked medium to well done?



The reason is because if your steak is icy cold it will be difficult to achieve a nice medium rare middle without overcooking the surface.


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## buckytom (Feb 28, 2012)

don't you want a good char or sear on the surface?


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## roadfix (Feb 28, 2012)

buckytom said:


> don't you want a good char or sear on the surface?


I get that in a couple or three minutes at most on each side.


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## buckytom (Feb 28, 2012)

oh, ok. you must be cooking at really high temps. like north of 800 degrees.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 28, 2012)

buckytom said:


> don't you want a good char or sear on the surface?


Of course I want a good "char" but I don't want the middle uncooked.

Please understand that I'd accept the middle almost "tartare." I want a nice char on the outside and a rare to medium rare in the middle.

If your steak is icy cold when it goes on the grill it's difficult to get that.

I want a narrower char and a wider band of rare or medium rare in the middle. But I don't really want any raw.


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## roadfix (Feb 28, 2012)

buckytom said:


> oh, ok. you must be cooking at really high temps. like north of 800 degrees.


I don't know about 800 degrees but this is stove top cast iron griddle.


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## buckytom (Feb 28, 2012)

i understand, thanks.

i've never rested a steak to bring up the temp before cooking in many different ways: broiling, grilling (charcoal or gas), grill pan, pan fried, or even over campfire coals on a backpack grate, and i've never had a problem achieving rare and medium rare through and through. in fact, i think it's easier with a cold steak. now medium to well done, then i can see how that would work.


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## jennyema (Feb 29, 2012)

I have an all clad griddle that I use to defrost ... Now I'll use it to bring meat up to temp.

dUH!!!

Thanks y'all!!


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 29, 2012)

buckytom said:


> i understand, thanks.
> 
> i've never rested a steak to bring up the temp before cooking in many different ways: broiling, grilling (charcoal or gas), grill pan, pan fried, or even over campfire coals on a backpack grate, and i've never had a problem achieving rare and medium rare through and through. in fact, i think it's easier with a cold steak. now medium to well done, then i can see how that would work.



BT, take it to the extreme. Imagine you are cooking a totally frozen steak. You just took it out of your freezer and now you want to throw it on the grill.

Or imagine it has been sitting on your kitchen counter for 24 hours and has achieved room temperature.

Do you see some mean here? (Mean in terms of mean average or middle ground.)


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## buckytom (Feb 29, 2012)

i doubt it's a linear equation in the range of values presented here, lol.
besides, that takes all of the soul out of cooking.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 29, 2012)

buckytom said:


> i doubt it's a linear equation in the range of values presented here, lol.
> besides, that takes all of the soul out of cooking.



Perhaps not linear but if it's too cold it won't cook very good in the middle. Capiche?

I dunno Bt, I always let my steak set on the counter for an hour or so to warm up from fridge temps...

You know--and I accept--that there's an entirely different way of looking at it. Maybe you want your steak really, really cold, so that when you cook it you can get a really good crust yet still have it tartare in the middle.

I have a fantasy recipe I want to cook one day. I imagine I'll have very cold almost frozen sushi grade tuna, and I'll throw it on the grill and cook one side to perfection yet have the other side completely raw. The tuna steak would have to be really chilled for this to work... I would serve it with two sauces, one for the cooked side and one for the sashimi side. (The raw would of course be served with soy sauce and wasabi.) Maybe there would be a good wasabi sauce to serve with cooked tuna. (Ideas anybody?)


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## TATTRAT (Feb 29, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> ... yet still have it tartare in the middle.
> 
> ...




You keep referring to having steak tartare in the middle. . .you are not going to have steak tartare in the middle, it would be rare steak. Tartare is a preparation, and a dish unto it self. If you cook a steak, and end up with finely minced beef, with assorted accouterments, then please share the recipe. 

It's also, practically universally known in the industry, if you want a Pittsburgh Rare, you use a steak right out of the cooler. For thin cuts, if you want a rare/medium rare, you don't let it come up to temp. Coming up to temp is typically reserved for cuts you want a little more done, medium and above(ruined).


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## Julio (Feb 29, 2012)

Does this technique work with enamel cast iron as well?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 29, 2012)

Julio said:


> Does this technique work with enamel cast iron as well?



Yes Julio!  It will work with that, too!


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## jennyema (Feb 29, 2012)

If you really want a real "Pittsburgh" steak (black and blue) it helps to start with a cold steak, but otherwise meats cook more evenly with a room temp piece of meat.


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## FrankZ (Feb 29, 2012)

If usually get mine out of the fridge a early, cause that way the middle can be closer to room temp when I am done with mine.


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## roadfix (Feb 29, 2012)

My wife likes her steaks destroyed.  But to make it still eatable I need to leave her steak out a good couple of hours before tossing it on the grill and leaving it there for the next ten minutes.


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## buckytom (Feb 29, 2012)

it makes sense to me that if you want a moist, well done steak, bring it to room temp first so you don't have to overcook it to achieve that level of done-ness.

but in my experience, if the meat is cold, it's easier to keep the middle more on the rare to medium side when using normal home cooking temps around 600  to 700 degrees at best

i dunno. i thought it was a commonly known attribute. but after this thread, i looked into it and found this: Seven Myths About Grilling a Steak

myth #2 was interesting.

actually, i remember a cooking show from years ago that had a griller putting a chunk if ice inside a burger so that it would remain less cooked in the middle while attaining a good crust on the outside.
i'm sure it was freshly ground beef.

also, i remember another grilling show specifically stating that cold meat is easier to keep rare when cooking. 
makes as much sense as a hunk o' beef that is at an even temp throughout would cook evenly throughout.

i guess the question is in the execution.


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