The Genius Way José Andrés Tempers Steak For The Juiciest Bite

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Tempering chocolate can be a complicated process, even if you use Ina Garten's favorite trick (which involves the microwave). Tempering steak, on the other hand, is as simple as letting it come to room temperature before you cook it. Well, unless you're José Andrés, that is. Leave it to him to come up with a way to complicate the process. The restaurateur swears that letting the meat achieve a temperature some 30 degrees Fahrenheit higher than standard makes for a much better steak (room temperature in cooking is roughly 70 degrees, for reference).

The way Andrés tempers his steaks at his restaurant Bazaar Meat is to set them on a rack suspended about three feet above a charcoal grill. He lets the meat warm up until it reaches an internal temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, at which point he grills it (or rather, his kitchen staff does). While even room-temperature meat allows for more evenly cooked steaks, Andrés swears that a steak tempered to a higher temperature doesn't need to be rested. As far as he's concerned, you can cut into it right away and it won't lose a drop of juice.

If you want to temper a steak just like José Andrés, or at least as close as you can get without owning your own restaurant, you'll need a charcoal grill and an elevated rack. You may not find be able to fit anything three feet above your grill, but something like a stainless steel warming rack will at least allow you a few inches of elevation. It's also possible to temper your steak using a sous vide machine, should you have such a luxe gadget handy. An hour in water heated to 125 degrees Fahrenheit should yield a well-tempered steak, and there's little danger of it overcooking if you leave it in the bath even longer.

If you have neither a grill rack nor a sous-vide setup, you can also temper your steak a la Andrés by using your oven. Set it at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, then bake the steak for 30 to 45 minutes (depending on the steak's thickness). Use a rack so the air can circulate around the meat as it tempers — it's even better if you can somehow manage to prop it up so it's standing on end. You'll need to have a meat thermometer on standby since the steak should come out of the oven as soon as the internal temperature hits the 105 degrees Fahrenheit recommended by Andrés. After that, you can set it on the grill to cook like normal.