Trex on a spider

Now, the second most important step—letting the meat rest. I learned this important tidbit from a friend of mine, David Welch, who has been a chef at several well-known steak houses, including Pappas Bros. in Houston. Meat is mostly muscle that will contract and tighten during the searing process (think of when you get a “knot” in your shoulder muscle). For a tender, juicy steak, you must let the muscle in the meat relax before you cook your steak at a lower temperature (think of a massage working the knot out of your shoulder). After much experimentation, I have found that the optimum resting time for a steak is 20 minutes. Any longer than this and the juices start to run out of the meat. So leave the steak on a plate in your kitchen and walk away (if you have a dog, you may not want to walk away).