Technique
Resting meat
2026-10-10 · Adrian Stefan, Table d'Adrian
Resting
meat
Meat keeps cooking after it leaves the pan, and the juices settle if you give them a few minutes. Carve too soon and the plate floods. Leave it too long and a steak that was rosy is only warm.
A single steak or a duck breast wants about five minutes, loosely covered, in a warm place that is not the oven. A larger roast wants longer, closer to fifteen or twenty, still covered, still out of the direct heat.
I use that pause to finish the garnish and to warm the plates. The meat is seasoned before it rests, not after it is sliced, so the cut surface stays clean.