How Long to Leave Steak Out Before Grilling
I think the only amount of time you need to leave your steak out before grilling is the amount of time it takes to season the steak with salt and seasonings.
The days of leaving your steak out to get to room temperature so that they cook evenly, I think this whole theory has been debunked in multiple ways.
If you really have large cuts of steak it could help to leave it out a little bit so the seasoning can actually be absorbed and not be sitting on top of a partially refrigerated/frozen steak.
Depending on how thick the cut of steak is it could change the amount of time it takes to actually get to the correct temperature.
What is the purpose of leaving a steak out before cooking?
Knowing the reason for leaving steak out before grilling will help you determine how long to let it sit.
Personally, I think this is a misconception that you really need to leave a steak out to get to room temperature, I do not suggest that.
Taking a little bit of the chill off to say a really thick-cut rib-eye steak might not be such a bad idea.
Personally, I have not found any results that benefit from leaving a steak out before you grill it.
Going directly from the refrigerator to seasoning the steak and then onto the grill I don’t feel is a problem at all and provides excellent results.
Consider all of these factors before you make my grilled steak quesadillas.
Leaving your steak out theory
The purpose of letting your steak come to room temperature is actually so that it cooks more evenly so they say.
When you start with a cold piece of meat, the outside will cook much faster than the inside, leading to an unevenly cooked steak.
Allowing your meat to come up to room temperature will help mitigate this issue and give you a more evenly cooked steak.
This would be within reason if your kitchen was say a 100°F during the day you obviously would not want to leave a steak on the counter for that long and risk bacteria getting to it.
How long can steak sit out before cooking?
This depends a lot on you and your risk tolerance of the steak getting too close to room temperature and actually getting bad bacteria.
If your kitchen is relatively cool then it’s not so much a problem to leave it out for a bit of time while you prepare it.
If it’s the heat of the summer you obviously don’t want to leave it on the counter or on the table or bring it out to the grill.
Just leave it sitting next to the grill while the grill is warming up.
For me the steak only stays out the amount of time it takes me to prepare trimming off fat, seasoning the steak, or prepping the grill for the grilling.
How far in advance should I season my steak before grilling
If you’re just grilling up some ribeye steaks or some New York strips and you just pulled them out of the refrigerator, give them a little bit of time to warm up say 10 to 20 minutes, and then add your salt, fresh cracked pepper, or whatever other seasonings you’re putting on your steak.
Depending on how cold the steak is I’d like to give it a little bit of time for the salt to actually work its way into the meat.
If you put a bunch of freshly cracked pepper and kosher salt that stick on your steak it could just fall off by the time you get it to the grill if you don’t give it a few minutes to melt on the steak.
If you have some real-time I’m never done it before give yourself a try at dry brining your steak 24 hours before you actually grill it.
You might find some incredible results on how well it Browns and crisps up the outside of the steak.
Check out my post for information about grilling steak and how to tell when your grilled steak is done or more specifically how to tell when grilled flank steak is done.
Is steak ok if left out overnight?
No, there is no reason that you could safely leave a steak out overnight. Go ahead and throw it away it is not good or safe to eat.
Bacteria can grow rapidly in the “Danger Zone” which is the temperature range between 40 °F and 140 °F.
This means that it is important to take steps to keep food cold or hot so that it does not enter this range.
If you have meat or poultry that has been left out overnight, discard it immediately.
If you enjoy grilled steak learn about the best oils for grilling steak.
FAQ
No, typically you can not. If you had an extremely thin cut of steak that just came out of the freezer there probably would be no effect of just grilling it instantly.
Think of this as cooking or grilling frozen hamburger patties kind of the same idea.
The USDA recommends cooking the steak for at least three minutes on each side to kill any bacteria which might have grown during the time it was frozen.
The best practice for frozen steak would be to let it thaw in the refrigerator… Take it straight from the freezer into the refrigerator.
After it has fully thawed then go about grilling it.
Yes absolutely, there is no need to let the steak sit at room temperature before cooking. I never let my stakes rest to actually have them grill more evenly or any of those other theories that they have.
My steaks go right from being prepped by trimming or seasoning and then straight to the grill when the grill is hot enough.
No, there is no reason that you could safely leave a steak out overnight. Go ahead and throw it away it is not good or safe to eat.
Bacteria can grow rapidly in the “Danger Zone” which is the temperature range between 40 °F and 140 °F.
This means that it is important to take steps to keep food cold or hot so that it does not enter this range.
If you have meat or poultry that has been left out overnight, discard it immediately.
