Should meat come to room temperature before cooking?

The rule says cold meat cooks unevenly, so let it sit out first. Kenji measured it: after a full hour on the counter, the center of a thick steak had warmed by only a few degrees. The difference in the cooked result was undetectable. Meat is mostly water, and water is slow to warm — an hour of counter time buys you almost nothing.

What actually produces even cooking: gentler heat, flipping often, and pulling at the right internal temperature — a thermometer again, sorry — or the reverse sear, which warms the meat slowly and evenly on purpose, in an oven, where it belongs.

One counter-time effect IS real: a drier surface sears better. But the fridge does that better than the counter — meat left uncovered on a rack in the fridge overnight develops a tacky-dry surface that takes a spectacular crust. That's dry-brining, and it's the useful version of this myth.

So skip the ceremonial hour on the counter. Salt it, dry it, cook it cold, flip it often, pull it by temperature.