How long should steaks be left out of the fridge before cooking?

[Fire86]

Mumsnet, please help me settle a dispute! I think steaks should be left to come up to room temperature (in a warm kitchen) for 30 mins to 1 hour before cooking. My husband thinks 2-3 hours or so is fine.

YABU - 2-3 hours is fine
YANBU - 2-3 hours is too long and risks food poisoning

I'd say 30mins is fine

2-4 hours

30 minutes they will still be cold to the touch and affect the cooking.

Any longer and a cat will have them. Our kitchen is very warm also

We usually get it out 3 hours before cooking, and leave it out of the packaging too

Our steaks for tonight came out of the fridge about half an hour ago and they’ll be cooked in about 45 -60 mins.

Steaks being out of the fridge in October in the UK for 3 hours is hardly going to cause food poisoning.

Serious Eats did an experiment here and found no real benefit to letting steaks sit on the surface before cooking, in Myth 1. The most important thing is to dry your steak as thoroughly as possible.

After two hours, I decided I'd reached the limit of what is practical, and had gone far beyond what any book or chef recommends, so I cooked the two steaks side by side. For the sake of this test, I cooked them directly over hot coals until seared, then shifted them over to the cool side to finish.Not only did they come up to their final temperature at nearly the same time (I was aiming for 130°F), but they also showed the same relative evenness of cooking, and they both seared at the same rate.

Thanks everyone!