The short answer: No. Warming up a thick steak will not help it cook evenly. But we have three great methods that will.
The thing cooks fear most when cooking steak is the dreaded “gray band.”
This all-too-common side effect of searing steak often occurs when the meat just below the steak’s crust overcooks and turns gray. It’s the bane of steak cookery, and cooks are always looking for ways to avoid it.
One common—and misguided—tactic for preventing a gray band is to rest the steak at room temperature for an hour or two before cooking. The idea is that as it sits, its internal temperature (about 40 degrees when fridge-cold) will climb closer to the target cooked temperature (125 degrees for medium-rare, for example), and once in the pan, it will cook through faster and develop a crust more quickly. The upshot: less time for the gray band to develop.
But our tests proved that a room-temperature rest isn’t effective. When we rested 1-inch-thick rib-eye steaks for an hour, they only warmed up to 52 degrees; an hour later, they’d risen to just 62 degrees. (Resting meat longer is not advisable, since it puts it in the food safety “danger zone” as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.) And when we seared them in a ripping hot pan and flipped just once, they developed gray bands just as pronounced as the one on the steak we cooked the same way directly from the fridge.
That said, with the right approach, you can avoid a gray band and cook even the thickest steak perfectly.
Each ensures that the exterior of the meat develops a deeply browned crust just as the interior comes up to temperature, so it’s rosy from edge to edge.
Method 1: Cold Sear
How It Works:
This method also works beautifully with pork chops.
Method 2: Reverse Sear
How It Works:
Method 3: Sous Vide
How It Works:
RESTED AT ROOM TEMPERATURE Letting steaks sit at room temperature before cooking does not raise their temperature enough to prevent a band of gray meat from developing below the crust.
WARMED IN THE OVEN Starting steaks in a low oven before searing will raise their temperature sufficiently to produce a uniformly rosy interior. Our two other favorite methods will also avoid a gray band.