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Carryover cooking

Also called residual cooking

Food keeps cooking after it leaves the heat, and large pieces keep going a long way.

What it is

When a roast comes out of the oven its outside is far hotter than its centre. Heat keeps moving inward until the piece evens out, and the centre can climb several degrees on the bench.

Why it works

Heat moves from hot to cold; the oven only supplied the gradient. How far the centre rises depends on how big the piece is and how hot the oven was — a thin steak might gain a couple of degrees, a large joint from a hot oven five to eight.

When to use it

Every roast, joint, whole bird and thick steak.

What goes wrong

Cooking to the final target in the oven and overshooting on the bench; carving to check, which loses the juice that resting was holding.

Meridian cooking encyclopedia — Watchman Productions

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