Cut meat with or against the grain

To identify which direction the grain of the meat is running look for the parallel lines of muscle fiber running. That type of cut is called with the grain and results in a tougher slice of meat.

Gather the required components to slice your meat properly.

Cut meat with or against the grain. We often say in our recipes to cut meat across the grain or against the grain What exactly does that mean though and why is it important. Cut the Meat Against The Grain The last step you need to do to finish this task is to follow the instructions that you have learned from the discussions earlier. For those who wish to serve pre-sliced meat let the steak rest for a couple of minutes before slicing.

If youre after a tender cut of meat the thickness of the slice is as important as cutting across the grain. Muscle fibers run parallel to each other so cutting thick slices against the grain still leaves a significant amount of tough muscle to chew through. If youre looking to avoid this keep your slices as thin as possible.

When a piece of meat is cut with the grain that means anyone chewing on it will be working against the grain which makes it tougher. For cuts of meat that are naturally less tender this way of slicing will end up causing you to have jerky that might be too chewy. However a steak with a distinct grain will be inedible unless cut against the direction the grain runs If you do cut with the grain of the steak you will often find the meat.

Cutting steak against the grain is preferable because it results in a much more tender piece of meat. Think about it cutting with the grain means you have to chew through longer muscle fibers and those muscle fibers are tough. If you cut against the grain then your slice of meat will have much shorter muscle fibers.

Well no one wants to keep chewing the meat forever. Yes your teeth can break the tough muscle fiber. But it requires more time to chew even a small bite.

So cutting against the grain reduces the length of the muscle fiber and makes it easily chewable. The grain of the meat is easier to identify in certain cuts of meat. Its more clearly defined and easier to see in tougher cuts like flank hanger and skirt steak than it is in lean cuts like tenderloin.

Kelli Foster Heres Why Its Important to Slice Meat Against the Grain. Cutting meat against the grain means youll be cutting over the grain and not beside it or into it. That type of cut is called with the grain and results in a tougher slice of meat.

If you like tougher steaks theres your answer. Butcher and author of The Everyday Meat Guide Ray Venezia joined Rach to break it down for us literally. We do not have cutting teeth so no matter how you cook the meat its not going to be tender if you dont cut it against the grain where you shorten the fibers Ray explains so when we mash down it comes apart.

For tender meat you have to cut it against the grain. But some cuts have fibers running in different directions making it difficult to identify the grain. To identify which direction the grain of the meat is running look for the parallel lines of muscle fiber running.

Gather the required components to slice your meat properly. A perfect and comfortable knife is highly recommended. Remember the grain is not like marbling.

And you should not be cut your meat like the slaughterers. At first place your knife perpendicularly. Force it gently against the grain.

In summary to cut on a bias. Lay meat to cut against the grain Instead of straight down hold the knife at a slight angle to the meat tilting the top of the blade over so the blade is no longer upright. Follow the angle through the cut.

The knife is traveling left to. Slicing meat not only helps it fit on your plate and in your mouth but it also helps tenderize it makes it easier to chew and by exposing more surface area to your taste buds even enhances its flavor. The most critical element of slicing meat relates to slicing it against the grain which well get into shortly.

Here is Episode 6 of Wet Aged and Confused. We are talking about all things grain. Not the grain that is fed to cattle not Pre cattle but the muscle fibers.