How To Slice Meat Against The Grain

"Slice the meat against the grain" is found in the instructions for many recipes. You've probably seen that written countless times and if you didn't know how to find the grain, you might have guessed and crossed your fingers. When I was a newlywed, I remember flipping the meat over about ten times trying to figure out where and what the grain was.

When working with most beef, it is important to slice the meat across (or against) the grain of the meat. The meat is made of long muscle fibers all lined up in a row. You want to slice across the muscle fibers (also called the grain of the meat) and break them into the smallest sections possible. By slicing across those fibers, the meat won't be tough at all and it will be wonderfully tender.

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