20 years trimming fat before I realized I was cutting against the grain

a guy from Nebraska at the shop last month watched me for 30 seconds and said 'you're fighting the meat, not working with it', and that tipped me off.

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron7407d ago

Gotta jump in here because a lot of people mix up cutting against the grain with just trimming off fat, so you're not alone. The grain is about the muscle fibers running through the meat, not the fat cap on the outside. Trimming fat is fine, but if you're slicing a steak or a roast, you want to cut perpendicular to those long fibers so it's tender, not chewy. Sounds like that Nebraska guy saved you a lot of tough meals down the road, huh?

murray.cora7d ago

Man that Nebraska guy knew his stuff, same thing happened to me with a butcher in Wisconsin who told me I was "sawing at it instead of slicing with the fibers" and it completely changed how I look at a cut of meat now.

christopherw347d ago

Our neighbor's butcher said I was fighting the fat when the real fight was the silverskin underneath.