Why you should rest meat after taking it off the grill

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Q: Why do I have to rest meat after I take it off the grill? -- Larry Gray, Plano, TexasA: "Resting" is the standard term for, essentially, leaving food alone for a few minutes (generally ranging from five to 30, depending on how big it is) before cutting into it.You need to do it because of the way cooking works: applying heat to meat denatures the proteins, causing them to tighten up. (Think about the texture of a rare steak versus the texture of a well-done one.) That tightening, which occurs from the outside in, drives the liquids in the meat toward the center, where they collect.What that means: If you take a just-cooked steak out of the oven and cut into it, you'll notice juices pooling out all over your cutting board. But if you let the meat sit untouched for 10 minutes, the juices will redistribute throughout the entire steak, making them much less likely to spill out when you start slicing.For this kind of resting, the time is determined by the weight and thickness of the piece. Skirt steak only needs a few minutes, where the Thanksgiving turkey needs half an hour to 40 minutes.Remember when you rest meat that even though it's off the heat, the residual heat inside is still cooking it -- so, depending on the cut of meat, the internal temperature may rise anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees.(For more information, visit www.foodnetwork.com or write Ask Food Network c/o Viewer Services Culinary Department, Scripps Networks, PO Box 50970, Knoxville, TN 37950.)