Shoutout to my old sous chef who said to always sear a roast cold
He told me to pull a prime rib straight from the fridge and put it right into a 500 degree oven, which went against everything I'd learned about bringing meat to room temp first. I tried it on a 12 pound roast for a party of 30 last fall, and the crust was perfect while the inside stayed a steady medium rare. Has anyone else found that the old 'let it sit out' rule is actually wrong for big cuts?
Your old sous chef was onto something. That fridge-cold start gives you way more time to build a crust before the inside overcooks. I do the same with thick pork chops now. Pull them cold, pat them bone dry, and you get a sear that sticks. Letting big cuts warm up just steams the outside.
Yeah, my old sous chef knew his stuff. Took me burning like three expensive ribeyes to finally listen to him. I was so stuck on that "room temp" rule I read in a magazine once. Now I just grab the steak straight from the fridge, salt it hard, and into the pan. The crust you get is unreal, and no more gray band.
Yeah that "room temp" thing is a trap. I tried it for years and always got that sad gray ring around the edge. Now I go straight from the fridge, pat it dry with paper towels til it's tacky, then hit it with salt and pepper. The crust is way better and the inside stays pink.