Whether you’re cooking premium cuts of beef like filet mignon or prime rib for special occasions, or chicken breast recipes for regular weeknight dinners, there’s usually three goals in mind—meat that’s as flavorful as possible, as juicy as can be, and perfectly tender. The cut and quality of meat both help make these possible, as does the cooking method. But there’s another trick that can help make your meat easier to chew: slicing it against the grain. It’s a technique that you’re probably familiar with, but how do you correctly slice meat against the grain and what exactly does it mean anyway?
Why Slicing Against the Grain Matters
In any cut of meat, there are a series of long muscle fibers that run in a consistent direction. If you slice with the grain—lining up your knife parallel to those fibers—you leave them long and intact, which can lead to a stringy, chewy bite. By cutting against the grain, or across those fibers, you shorten them, making the meat easier to chew and more tender. The result is a more pleasurable eating experience.
How Do You Know Which Way the Grain Runs in Meat?
You can have the best intentions when it comes to properly preparing meat—buying a premium cut, using one of these marinade recipes, or rubbing it with a savory spice blend—but if you don’t actually know which way the grain runs, slicing the meat will be your downfall. Fortunately there’s an easy way to tell which way the grain runs so you can slice your meat properly.
Look for long, thin, parallel lines running through the meat; that will show you which direction the muscle fibers and tissue are going. When it comes time to cut, run your knife perpendicular to those lines, rather than parallel.
It’s much easier to identify the grain when the meat is still raw versus once it’s fully cooked. Take a good look at your meat before throwing it on the grill or into a cast-iron skillet. There are also certain cuts of meat that have more visible grain lines than others. For example, it’s easier to find the grain in tougher cuts of beef like flank steak, hanger steak, skirt steaks, and brisket than in ultra-tender cuts such as filet mignon and ribeye.
How to Cut Meat Against the Grain
Once you’ve properly identified the grain on a cut of meat, place it on a cutting board and grab your sharpest chef’s knife. Position your knife perpendicular to the grain—aka against the grain—and hold the blade at a slight angle (about 45 degrees) if desired. (Some home cooks think you need a more dramatic angle to properly cut against the grain, but that's not necessary.) Use a single, smooth slicing motion to cut the meat into pieces rather than a sawing motion, which can tear the meat and lead to less attractive and tougher slices.
