Study: Bringing Steak temp up before cooking

A fellow egger got me thinking about this exercise. It's something I've done for years, but never took the time to actually 'study' the impact of my practice. I am talking about bringing a steak internal temp up prior to cooking. It has been my experience that by bringing meat temps up before the cook:
1) the protein strands begin to relax, purging excess water before the cook
2) the internal temp is closer to the dersired end result after cooking, and
3) the meat will cook more evenly throughout.

I started with Boneless Ribeyes, 1 1/2 inches thick.

Here is what I found (note ambient home temp was 76):
35 degrees internal when removed from fridge at 5:30
(removed packaging, and placed on plate)
42 degrees internal at 5:45
48 degrees internal at 6:00
50 degrees at 6:10
56 degrees at 6:30 (began firing egg)
59 degrees at 6:45
64 at 7:05
66 degrees at 7:10, onto egg

Conclusion: In one hour, the internal temp rose by
an impressive 22 degrees. This rise would indeed have a major impact already when beginning the cook.
In one hour forty minutes, the internal temp rose a very impressive total of 31 degrees!

Any concerns regarding 'unsafe food handling' should be dismissed, as any bacteria dwell only on the outside surface of the steak. They will be immediately killed when seared on the grill. (This practice should NOT be used on ground meats, as the bacteria normally living on a meats surface have been incorporated throughout in the grinding process).

Results:


The steaks, 1:40 out, ready for Egg! Notice the water puddled on the plate...this was excess water. Also note, the steak was sprinkled with kosher salt, both sides, at 6:30, also helping to pull out the excess water, and making the meat 'happy'.


Onto the egg! (No additional seasonings added)
3 minute sear per side, and removed to plate to rest.


After a 15 minute rest, ready to eat. Evenly cooked throughout, and a nice med rare.

Hope this encourages more of you fellow eggers to allow your meats to sit out and warm up a bit before firing them on the Egg! Also note, this is common practice in the finer restaurants you may dine in. It does make a difference in the end result.

Happy Eggin everyone!