In Praise of Rested Meat

The Serious Eats Food Lab continues the food-knowledge evangelizing that it's become known for. Here, it presents a passionate and scientific demonstration of why you need to let your steak rest before you eat it. (In short: Cut too early, and the flavorful juices run all over the plate.)

It's a post worth checking out simply for the photos showing progressively more rested steaks. It starts from "juice explosion" and goes all the way down to "totally no leakage" in a very dramatic series.

Added bonus: There's some interesting stuff in the comments about the dry salt curing of steaks that's also worth a read.

By the way, if you typically let meat rest by tenting it with aluminum foil, ruining the crust with steam, here's a method to restore the meat's crust.