Bringing meat and Seafood to room temp before cooking. Your take:

[Dive Bar Casanova]

I belong to a service organization and we throw functions that generate money for a local special needs school. We have a bar that rakes in money from foot traffic, but the dinner nights really brought in bank.

We did a Fish fry that had lines out the door. A local guy sold his Fish and Chips business and in retirement we did it once a month.

We used Cod that came individual portion wrapped and he insisted we put it in the oil at room temp.
Also one of the secrets was Smart n Final Special fry oil. Never all purpose. That oil has been banned here for awhile now.
It made a HUGE difference.

The most amazing Fish and Chips like none other.
He passed away and the Fish and Chips night faded away.
It defaulted to a bunch of drunks in the kitchen arguing with each other and that was that.

Also, a British guy retired from the UK foreign service kitchen staff joined our club..
He said get 10 special ovens and we'll do a once a month Prime Rib night, then Prime rib tacos the next day.

Again, seasoned "short ends" went in the oven at room temp,, to him was essential, as was the slow cook.
An incredible money maker. Also, local packing houses would donated refrigerated truck of meat.
Just an amazing function.

We did a baby back night too, and the secret there was the Red Oak that we also used for Trip tip lunches. It's different.
Both HUGE money makers, but all started their cooks at room temp.

So now, I let everything get to room temp, though pork I keep a close eye on and it's still kinda cold when it goes in the smoker.

We've done so well that a local wealthy family was so impress with our work they donated our building and land which is some of the most, if not the most valuable land in the world.

Any takes?

 

[gmc2003]

I'm a fridge to smoker/grill guy. I've never noticed a difference between room temp and cold.

Chris

 

[chopsaw]

I let everything get to room temp,

Same here . Always , unless time gets away from me .
I usually salt the surface the night before , then into the fridge . Day of the cook , I set whatever it is out on the counter to warm up .

 

[chopsaw]

secret there was the Red Oak that we also used for Trip tip lunches. It's different.

Forgot to say ,, red oak is a secret weapon on beef . Burn some down to coals and grill steaks as close to it as you can get . Fantastic .

 

[normanaj]

Never for seafood.

 

[slavikborisov]

for searing steaks maybe but for smoking i never noticed a difference on whole muscle cuts. on sausage there always a low temp drying step then smoke to get the smoke to adhere to but i never do that on long smokes esp higher temp 200F and above for whole muscles. sounds like an unwritten rule of thumb that got passed on through generations

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Never for seafood.

We just got off a cruise. The dinner waiter each night told us the seafood on the menu stunk. I've always though if you can smell seafood, don't eat it.

The ship went into dry dock the day after the cruise so we got the impression they were cleaning out the freezers and coolers in anticipation of the power going down.

Cutting the steaks was brutal. TSA approved knives worked on past cruises,, not this time.
Not cheap cruise with $2 steaks. Bon Appetite'!

The Yorkshire Pudding was like eating your sox.

 

[mike243]

Stick a therm into a big piece of meat and see how long it takes to hit 70, then see how hot you have to cook it to hit 140 in 4 hours. I fridge to smoker these days. raising the temp slowly 30 degree serves no purpose imo.

 

[zwiller]

To me, it's not really about bringing meat to room temp but getting the meat exterior drier (pellicle). I do like an hour ambient while I prep and setup smoker etc. I think it's a good idea to let it lose it's chill before smoking. I don't want condensation to form creosote. I rest cured sausage overnight room temp for my dry step. Would I actually measure it and confirm an 8lb pork butt reaches 68F? No and I bet it takes ALOT longer than you'd suspect, like 8 hours.

 

[chopsaw]

A big piece of meat is sterile on the inside . As long as the surface gets the heat it needs your fine .
Summer Sausage chubs get 60 to 90 minutes at room temp before going to the smoker . Overnight at 60 degrees if using a starter culture .

Did a meatloaf yesterday . That goes from fridge to smoker . No warm up because it's not intact .
I make sure it gets past 140 in time , then I let it ride .

So I said always above , but it depends on what it is . Fish or seafood , no .
Poultry just to tac up the skin .

 

[thirdeye]

We used Cod that came individual portion wrapped and he insisted we put it in the oil at room temp.

I agree that fish need time to warm before frying, because if it's too cold it won't cook evenly, and will splatter. But usually about 20 minutes is all it takes. Vacuum packaging of fish creates an anaerobic environment that can cause botulism. Prior to thawing, you should remove the fish from the packaging, or cut a hole in the package to let air in, and then refrigerate it while slow-thawing. I'm surprised your cases of fish did not have that warning.

Again, seasoned "short ends" (of prime rib) went in the oven at room temp,, to him was essential, as was the slow cook.

I agree 100% with cooking prime rib roasts at 225°, but I bring it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking.

So now, I let everything get to room temp, though pork I keep a close eye on and it's still kinda cold when it goes in the smoker.

Just curious, are you guys bound by the local department of health rules and inspections? And do you have liability insurance?

 

[mike243]

Creosote comes from wood that hasn't burned properly due to lack of oxygen or too much moisture in it and carries the oils in the smoke/heat and sticks to everything. sometimes called dirty smoke. it can happen warming a pit up or if wet wood any time.

 

[JCAP]

Bringing meat to room temp really does not much of anything.

7 Myths About Cooking Steak That Need to Go Away

We put to rest seven of the most stubborn myths about grilling steaks, including that you should let your steak rest at room temperature beforehand and that you should only flip steaks once.

www.seriouseats.com

Myth: Let Meat Come To Room Temp Before Cooking

Do not bring your meat to room temperature before cooking it. That is a myth that poses a food safety risky. Letting meat sit at room temperature for a few minutes may be OK, but it's safer and better to simply take your meat from the refrigerator to the cooker. Here's why.

amazingribs.com

 

[chef k-dude]

For me it depends on the food and the cooking method. I am a lot less concerned than some about most foods resting till room temp, whether thats cooling a casserole or thawing something. I dont always follow the rules. I have two portions of lasagna that were vac sealed in the freezer on a sort of trivet on the kitchen counter right now. Took it out this morning. Just checked and its still cold to the touch. If something like that comes close to room temp I'll put it in the fridge until its time to heat it up later. Thawing on the counter is supposed to be a non-no. I do it all the time with no negative results.

For fish portions, I dont cook a lot of them but I wouldn't be worried about them getting to room temp, I wouldn't want them to sit for 2 hours at room temp though. I like to take shrimp, hamburgers and steaks straight from the fridge to the cook but that has nothing to do with food safety. I like to deep fry cold shrimp because I can get a good crust set at 375 in 3-4 mins and starting from cold helps keep them from overcooking, the residual heat finishes them as they rest waiting for serving. With burgers and steak, I like my steaks med-rare and my burgers med to leaning med rare. Starting cold allows time to get a good sear and keep the center cooler. I grind my own burger meat from one chuck roast. I would not cook store-packaged hamburger that way.

With chicken, I'm not afraid of letting it come to room temp. but I wouldn't want to hold it there for a long time. Cooking the chicken to the minimum temp should kill anything.

Where a lot of people get their food born sickness is where many least expect it...cross-contamination. It happens on the kitchen counter. It's not hard to accidentally get a touch of say, a leaking meat package somewhere it never occurred to you a raw food (like salad stuff) may also contact. We haven't had any sort of bug we were aware of for a long time. In fact my wife and I never have the same symptoms at the same time. I might have some bubbling guts one day, and shes perfectly fine and we at the same food the night before. Seldom happens even that way.

Cooking for the public is tricky though. Usually you're fine even if someone had a bad night after eating your food, most people move on; but a serious illness requiring hospitalization can bring a lawsuit.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Whole muscle meats, no problem.
Fish as whole filets I think stick the batter better if warm versus cold. Same for chicken fried steak. So I’d have no issue, just don’t try this with any shell fish.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

I agree that fish need time to warm before frying, because if it's too cold it won't cook evenly, and will splatter. But usually about 20 minutes is all it takes. Vacuum packaging of fish creates an anaerobic environment that can cause botulism. Prior to thawing, you should remove the fish from the packaging, or cut a hole in the package to let air in, and then refrigerate it while slow-thawing. I'm surprised your cases of fish did not have that warning.

I agree 100% with cooking prime rib roasts at 225°, but I bring it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking.

Just curious, are you guys bound by the local department of health rules and inspections? And do you have liability insurance?

We don't do it anymore and never had any issues.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

If you are letting your meat sit out just be sure to cover it.