Look at your cooked steak. See those lines running through it? That’s the grain—the muscle fibers. You want to cut across them, not along them.
Cutting with the grain gives you long, stringy strands. Cutting against the grain shortens those fibers, making each bite easier to chew. This is the biggest “Ah-ha!” moment for most home cooks.
Try it: slice one piece with the grain and one against. You’ll become a believer in two seconds flat.
