Carryover cooking

Carryover cooking is the way food keeps cooking after you take it off the heat. The outside is hotter than the middle, so heat keeps moving inward and the center temperature keeps rising for a while. For a large roast, the rise can be 3 to 8°C (5 to 15°F). For a thin steak it is only a degree or two. Knowing this helps you avoid overcooked meat.

How to do it

1. Use an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, away from bone.
2. Decide on the final internal temperature you want.
3. Take the meat off the heat before it gets there: 1 to 3°C (2 to 5°F) early for thin steaks, chops and fish, 3 to 5°C (5 to 10°F) for thick steaks, and 5 to 8°C (10 to 15°F) for large roasts.
4. Rest the meat loosely covered with foil. Check the temperature again before carving.

Poultry is the exception. To follow USDA guidance, make sure chicken and turkey have reached 74°C (165°F) before they leave the heat.

How to tell it is done

The temperature in the center stops rising and starts to fall. That is the peak, and the true final temperature.

Why it works

Heat moves from hot to cold. When meat leaves a hot oven, its outer layers can be far hotter than the core. That stored heat keeps flowing toward the center until the temperature evens out. The bigger the piece and the hotter the oven, the more stored heat and the bigger the rise. Low-and-slow cooking, as in a reverse sear, leaves a smaller gap and less carryover.

Common mistakes

• Pulling meat at the exact target. It ends up a level more done than you wanted.
• Covering tightly with foil. Trapped steam softens the crust and adds more carryover.
• Resting on a hot pan or in a warm oven. It keeps cooking from the outside.
• Forgetting it in baking. Cookies, custards and cheesecakes also firm up after they come out of the oven.

In recipes

"Remove from the oven when it reaches 52°C (125°F); it will rise to 57°C (135°F) as it rests" is how recipes usually build carryover into the instructions.