A perfectly cooked steak cut immediately bleeds juice onto the cutting board. The same steak rested for ten minutes barely weeps. The difference is muscle fibers: hot, they are tense and squeezing fluid out; rested, they relax and reabsorb their juices.
The rule is one minute per hundred grams. A small filet rests five minutes; a tomahawk rests fifteen. Tent loosely with foil to keep warm, but do not seal -- the trapped steam softens the crust you worked hard to build.
The same rule applies to roasted whole chickens, smoked brisket, even bone-in pork chops. Time is the cheapest ingredient in cooking and resting is one of the few places where doing nothing is the right move.
