A common misconception with spot-checking the temperature of a steak is that poking it with a probe will cause precious juices to drain, resulting in a dry finished product. We’re happy to debunk this myth that needs to go! We have 4 factsthat provetemping your steaks will NOT yield a dry result, and that temperature is the only reliable method to test for doneness.
Red meat is about 75% water, and as heat is transferred during cooking the bundles of protein strands tighten and begin squeezing out moisture. By testing the steak’s internal temperature, you’ll know exactly how tightthe protein bundles have become, how much moisture has been lost, and it’s the ONLY way to be 100% sure of its doneness every single time.
Don’t listen to folks who say that this [using a thermometer] will cause the meat to lose a lot of juices; meat is a sponge, not a balloon, and liquid loss will be minimal unless you treat the meat like a voodoo doll. —Jeff Carroll, Feeding the Fire
The Myth:
Q: After I’ve seared the steak to seal in the juices, I should never poke it with a fork or a thermometer because it will break the seal and cause the juices to drain and dry out my steak—right?
A:1), Searing does not seal in the meat’s juices, and 2), A small hole made by a thermometer probe will notcreate a hole from which all the juices will drain.
4 Factsto Debunk the Myth:
This common misconception is best explained and debunked with the following 4 facts…
FACT 1: Searing Does NOT Seal in Juices
What Searing Does Not Do: A very common myth when cooking meat is that searing creates a crust on its exterior that “seals” in the meat’s juices. This is absolutely not true. Searing does not create a moisture barrier. Moisture and rendered fat will evaporate and drip from the meat as it cooks—even after searing.
What searing Does:Searing browns the meat, crisps the exterior, and gives itrich, complex flavors through the maillard reaction. This umami-flavor-filled, crusty exterior is considered a necessary component of a well-prepared steak. Learn more about searing meat and the maillard reaction in our post, Thermal Tips: Searing Meat.
FACT 2: A Steakis NOT Like a Water Balloon
A piece of meat is not like a water balloon with a sealed exterior holding all of the juices in. Kenji explains this concept so well in his post, 7 Myths About Cooking Steak That Must Go Away:
Really, a steak is like a series of very very very very very very thin water balloons, all packed tightly into bundles. Poke your steak with a fork and a few of those balloons may indeed pop, but most will simply be pushed out of the way. It’s like filling up an olympic-sized swimming pool with water balloons then throwing a needle into it. You may pop a couple, but you’ll hardly notice that they’re gone. —Kenji Lopez-Alt, Serious Eats
FACT 3: Poking Your Steak With a Thermometer Will NOT Open the Floodgates
A small amount of moisture will indeed drip from the small area that was probed, but it is not equivalent to a dam bursting. Unlike the amount of juices lost if a bratwurst is pierced, moisture lost from probing a steak (with no protective casing), is miniscule. Meathead points out in his post, Myth:Stabbing the Meat with a Thermometer or a Fork Will Drain it of Vital Juices,that the most moisture an 8-ounce steak will lose from being probed with a thermometer is 1/4 teaspoon (only 1.25 grams!).
If you use a good modern digital thermometer the probe is so thin there’s no way you’ll lose [even] that much. So stop worrying about it. —Meathead Goldwyn, AmazingRibs.com
Our recommended instant-read digital thermometers for grilling: ThermoPop®, Thermapen® Mk4, and RT600C
*Leave-in probe alarm thermometers such as ThermaQ®, ChefAlarm®, and DOT® are not recommended for the high heat cooking methods traditionally associated with cooking steaks, as their probes become damaged when exposed to very high heat.
Don’t listen to folks who say that this [using a thermometer] will cause the meat to lose a lot of juices; meat is a sponge, not a balloon, and liquid loss will be minimal unless you treat the meat like a voodoo doll. —Jeff Carroll, Feeding the Fire
FACT 4: Overcooking a Steak WILL Cause it to Dry Out
Real moisture loss comesinto play whensteaks are overcooked, and the only 100% reliable way to test for proper doneness is with a digital thermometer. Poking meat, waiting for juices to run clear, and checkingthe meat’s color are all very subjective methods with uncontrollable variables that will yield fallacious results—increasing your chances of a dry, overcooked steak.
With steaks, moisture loss is due to one thing: muscle fibers tightening, due to the application of heat, and squeezing out their liquid…the moisture they lose is directly proportional to the temperature to which you cook your steak. —Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Food Lab
☼ Internal Temperature is What Really Matters
When it comes down to the pull and final doneness temperatures of steak, every degree counts. Even 5°F (2°C) of further muscle fiber tightening can quickly turn a steak from tender and juicy to tough and dry.
Kenji discusses an experiment he performed in testing the amount of moisture lost in steaks at different doneness temperatures in his book, The Food Lab.His results illustrate how critical temperature is to moisture loss in steak. Between 120-140°F (49-60°C), the increasein temperaturecauses a steady 2% moisture loss per 10°F (5°C) gain in temperature. Once the steak’s internal temperature begins exceeding140°F (60°C), the amount of liquid lost increases much more dramatically. See the chart below:
The best way to tell your steak is ready is with a good digital thermometer. Nothing else works. —Meathead Goldwyn, AmazingRibs.com
To Recap:
- Searing is for flavor, color, and texture. Not to seal in juices.
- The bundled composition of a steak’s protein fibers arebetter equipped to handle temperature spot-checking than you might think.
- You will see juices seep out when probing a steak, but it is a negligible amount thatwill never beenough to dry it out.
- Temperature matters. A steak’s doneness (the stage meat is cooked to for optimal eating quality and food safety)is best measured with a digital instant-read thermometer.
Moral of the story: Far more moisture will be lost from overcookingsteak than could ever be lost from probing the meat with a thermometer. Get a thermometer totemp your steaks, and never eat a tough, dry piece of meat again.
Take the notion of poking a steak causing all its juices to drain and dry it out,and kick it to the curb where it belongs. The amount of moisture squeezed out by ever-tightening muscle fibers is what really matters, and the only accurate and reliable method to test for your desired stage of doneness every time is with a digital instant read thermometer. Case closed.
Products Recommended:
Resources:
The Food Lab, Kenji Lopez-Alt
Meathead Goldwyn, AmazingRibs.com
Feeding the Fire, Jeff Carroll
