Enlighten me please. What would be the internal temp of a steak left at room temperature for say 30 minutes.
This will vary according to the thickness of the steak, the ambient room temperature, and the nature of the surface the steak is resting on.
In any case, cooking steak from room temperature ONLY matters when you are cooking it via a single stage high heat method. This is because the delta-T between the interior of the steak and the surface is higher - it will take longer to bring it up to temperature. If it is a thick cut of steak, chances are the surface will be burnt and more of the steak will be overcooked before the interior is cooked. With a two stage cooking method (as I described in my first post) - you do not need to worry about starting cooking from the fridge. Yes it prolongs cooking time, but that's not really an issue. Chances are, the meat won't be overcooked because of the low delta-T.
Just FYI, this is what a steak cooked over high heat looks like. Note the thick rim of overcooked steak giving way to medium rare in the center. Also note the decorative stripes on the steak. IMO these stripes are a waste, because the potential for the Maillard reaction has not been maximized. I want the WHOLE surface of the steak to be caramelized, not just the bits that have touched the pan.
This is what a steak cooked over low heat looks like. Note that the meat is evenly set from surface to surface. Medium rare throughout, with only a very thin rim of overcooked meat just under the surface. THIS is what you achieve with the method I described in the first post.