Some things just go together. Burgers and buns 🤝 Ketchup and mustard 🤝 Bacon and everything 🤝

And another perfect pairing: Dead Meat Society members and Serious Eats doing in-depth meat experiments 🤝

Seriously, we can’t get enough when SE does their deep dives that throw out the rulebook and test all our assumptions. This week’s question: Does your meat really need to “rest”? And if so, how long for?

Unless you live under a meat-rock, you’re probably resting your meat after cooking, right? Conventional wisdom says that meat must rest before you slice and serve so that all those good juices have time to soak back into the meat instead of dripping out all over the cutting board. (More background info here.)

But it turns out there’s some evidence contradicting this theory…

Argument 1 for the Prosecution:

“How we perceive juiciness is incredibly complex and can not be reduced to a single factor like the percentage of liquid lost or retained. (If it were that simple, how could well-done meat like barbecued brisket seem juicy, and why does jerky, which is still about 25% water, seem bone-dry?) Confounding factors like melted collagen, fat, and the presence of salt (which triggers salivation) are just a few of the many variables that can alter our perception of juiciness.”

Whoa. Fair points. Juiciness isn’t defined just by the liquid on the cutting board.

Argument 2 for the Prosecution:

Skipping the rest ensures that skins and crusts that have developed a crisp, seared exterior don't steam and become soggy—arguably more important than any small savings in liquid one might gain with a rest.

Are we missing out on some crispiness when we rest?

The Experiment

SE’s Daniel Gritzer got extremely scientific and served up some pork loin to tasters, focusing on resting time and (more importantly) target internal temperatures.

We’ll save you ALL the science (just read it if you want to know), but the main takeaway is that the resting didn’t have as strong an effect as you might think…

The Conclusion (for now)

Turns out there may be a more important factor at play here… hitting the perfect target temperature while resting and slicing the meat up at that prime moment.

So rest that meat, but know that resting forever won’t get you endless deliciousness.

Enjoy the nuance.