Your steak came out perfectly. You took the time to season, watch the internal temperature, and let it rest. You go to eat it, and it feels disappointingly tough. What went wrong? The trick to tenderness is learning to slice a steak against the grain.  

Sometimes tenderness comes from the marbling in the meat, but more often it comes from the knife. 

Slicing steak properly is one of the easiest ways to improve the eating experience. The rule is simple: Find the direction of the muscle fibers, then cut across them. 

Where are those fibers hiding anyway? Thankfully, in some cuts like flank steak, skirt steak, and tri-tip, the grain can be particularly noticeable.

Here's how to get it right.

The Short Answer: Find the Grain, Then Cut Across It

As you look at your steak, try to find the direction the muscles run. They look like tiny threads running in parallel lines. Once you identify the grain, position your knife perpendicular to it (or as close to perpendicular as possible).

Why?

This technique shortens muscle fibers. You’re not doing anything magical; you’re just making each bite easier on your teeth.

1. For a steak or roast, your basic sequence is:
2. Cook the beef to your desired doneness (I recommend medium-rare).
3. Let it rest. 5 minutes for a steak 1 inch or under. 10-20 minutes for a small roast.
4. Find the direction of the grain.
5. Use a good Chef’s knife (you may want to sharpen your knife first)
6. Slice against the grain.
7. Keep your slices reasonably consistent.

In larger cuts of meat like brisket and chuck roast, the grain may change direction, size, and thickness because different muscles are bundled together. Adjust your slicing direction accordingly.

Chef Knife Cutting Against the Grain

What Does "Against the Grain" Actually Mean?

No, it doesn’t mean something rubs you the wrong way. It’s just avoiding slicing steak the wrong way.

Think of a steak as a bundle of tiny strings. Those are muscle fibers. Because of the way an animal moves, the grain tends to run in the same direction in specific cuts of meat. Look for those lines across the surface.

There is a temptation to cut along the lines that are there (it seems natural). But when you do that, you leave long strands of muscle intact from one end of the slice to the other.

If you slice against the grain, you're cutting those strands into shorter pieces. If you cut one piece of steak following the grain, and another against the grain, the second is likely to have a softer tooth feel. 

How to Find the Grain in a Steak

I confess, grain lines are easier to find on some cuts of meat than others. If you don’t see them, step back for a moment, then return with fresh eyes. 

Good lighting helps greatly. If your kitchen isn’t very bright, it is perfectly acceptable to hunt down the grain lines using a flashlight. Now you should see the parallel striations. You want to cut across them.

Tip: With browned edges and seasoning, finding the grain in the meat becomes an investigation worthy of a magnifying glass. So, look at your meat before cooking. That way, when your meat finishes, you already know where to cut. 

If you have an irregular cut, take a little extra time to inspect. Some grains change. The best example is tri-tip, which is essentially two cuts of meat in one. 

Chef Cuso’s “How to Slice a Steak” in Six Steps

1. Temperature: Make sure your beef reaches 145°F for food safety. A meat thermometer is your friend.
2. Resting time. No matter how good it smells, your steak needs time to rest. This helps distribute essential juices and settles the meat. This is a good opportunity to make sure your beef reaches 145°F for food safety. A meat thermometer is your friend.
3. Transfer the meat to a cutting board
4. Use a sharp knife. Both Chef and Carving knives work very well. You don’t want to have to saw aggressively. 
5. Find the grain again, remembering what you saw prior to cooking. If it runs left to right, cut from top to bottom. If the grain runs diagonally, slice the steak across the diagonal.
6. Keep your cuts smooth and even. Let your knife do the work. Uniform slices improve presentation and make portioning easier. Don’t get overly critical (no one will measure the thickness of your cut, I promise).

Perfect Thickness for Sliced Steak

How Thick Should Steak Slices Be?

It depends. What are you using the steak for? Cut thin slices for sandwiches, tacos, fajitas, and salads. Also, if you have a tougher steak, thin slices can be your best bet. 

Medium cuts work well when steak is poised as the main attraction in your dinner.  

Thick slices (or whole steak) showcase the meat and your grilling prowess.

Chef Cuso's rule?

Let the cut and the meal determine the thickness.

How to Slice Tri-Tip

Tri-tip is sneaky, fooling even experienced home cooks from time to time.

True to its name, tri-tip looks somewhat triangular. It has more than one grain direction, with the change happening toward the thicker part of the cut. No worries. You can master this.

Return to the steps for how to slice steak. Review where one grain ends and the other begins while the meat is still raw. When you remove it from the oven, slice across one grain at a time, changing your angle when you get to the second part. Turn your cutting board in the other direction to make it easier to cut across the new grain.

Have you ever eaten tri-tip where one piece is tender and the other chewy? That tells you one part was sliced incorrectly.

How to Slice Different Cuts of Steak

Different steaks have different personalities—and those characteristics mean that their grain can be more or less obvious.

Slicing Ribeye

If you love rich and tender, Ribeye is a natural choice thanks in part to its marbling. You can slice it across the grain for serving, but because the steak is already relatively tender, you don't need to obsess over finding microscopic fibers.

Succulent Sliced Ribeye

Slicing Strip Steak

New York strip has fairly noticeable muscle structure and benefits from slicing across the grain when serving it as strips or portions.

Slicing Flank Steak

Pay attention here.

Flank steak is the ally for those who are grain-challenged. It has prominent fibers you can easily see and slice across. 

Slicing Skirt Steak

Another bold grain. Skirt steak also has a pronounced grain. A slight diagonal cut can produce attractive slices while still crossing the fibers.

Slicing Tri-Tip

This is the tricky one. Find the grain, slice across it, and change direction when the grain changes.

Sliced Tri-Tip

Slicing Tenderloin

Tenderloin is already exceptionally tender, so slicing direction isn’t critical. Still, clean, consistent slices make for a better presentation.

How to Slice Steak: What NOT to Do

• Cut with the grain. If you see your knife running parallel to the grain, turn it.

• Slicing the meat immediately: Don’t risk losing those flavorful juices on the cutting board. Let the meat rest. 

• Using a dull knife. This means you’ll have to saw your way through the meat. Additionally, dull knives are dangerous. Because you push harder, you can lose control, slip, nick yourself, and get hand fatigue.

• Forget to turn the knife when the grain changes.

• Cutting every steak paper-thin. Many steaks deserve to be left whole, such as a filet. Match the cut to the purpose.

Cutting Steak Against the Grain

Chef Cuso's Steak-Slicing Routine

As you learn how to slice steak, it will become a kind of ritual. 

Five simple steps:

You rest the meat, find the grain, double-check the lines, sharpen your knife, and cut across the grain. 

Beyond Slicing: Rubs, Marinade, and Brine

A good slice can make a tender steak even better, but slicing isn't the only factor that affects tenderness. What happens before the steak hits the grill can influence texture, moisture, flavor, and even how forgiving the finished cut will be.

Steak Barbecue Rubs: 

Rubs are primarily surface flavoring, but salt is the exception. Salt moves into the meat, helping it retain moisture during your cook. So, look for salt-forward rubs that offer flavor and contribute to the steak’s tenderness and juiciness.

Cuso Cuts offers three blends that not only offer salt, but play a role in helping you build the idea crust. Our products are “clean label,” meaning no fillers and no seed oils. 

Cuso’s Gravel Seasoning: Gives you that steakhouse taste with robust cracked pepper, coarse sea salt, garlic, onion, and Hatch chilis for smokiness.

Cuso’s Dirt Seasoning: Our flagship, signature blend. A decidedly rich combination of garlic, onion, paprika, rosemary, thyme, and activated coconut charcoal for an earthy flavor signature.

Cuso’s Lemon Pepper: Not as high in salt, but the coarse grind of pepper and citrus notes combine for great-tasting steak.

Beef Tenderloin with Cuso's Barbecue Rub

Steak Marinades: 

Marinades can add flavor and sometimes affect the surface texture of meat depending on their ingredients. Acidic ingredients such as vinegar, citrus juice, and wine soften the outer layers. Yogurt or buttermilk contain compounds that can help tenderize. 

Here is an overview of the basic ingredients for a good steak marinade.

• Acid-Based: Lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, lime juice

• Aromatics: Garlic, black pepper, onion powder, parsley, thyme, basil

• Oil: Vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil.

• Salt: Kosher salt, with the potential of using a finishing salt like flaky smoked sea salt. 

• Umami: Worcestershire sauce, tamari, soy sauce

• Sweetness (optional). For a caramelized crust, brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup do the trick.

The catch? More acid and more time don't necessarily equate to more tenderness. Leave meat in a highly acidic marinade too long, and the exterior can become soft or mushy rather than pleasantly tender.

Marinated Skirt Steak

Steak Brines: 

If you want your meat to stay juicy, brining is a great option. Salt pulls water into the meat and changes the muscle proteins so they keep more moisture as they cook. Wet brines are often used for poultry and pork, but dry brining, which means salting the meat and letting it rest uncovered in the fridge, works very well for steaks and other beef cuts.

Wet Brine:

To wet brine a steak, mix 1 cup of kosher salt with 1 gallon of water. You can add any other seasonings you like, even a splash of pickle juice or wine. Try adding peppercorns, mustard seeds, fresh garlic, bay leaves, or a sprig of thyme.

Heat the mixture, then let it cool all the way. Put the meat in the brine so it’s fully covered and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Afterward, take it out, rinse it off, and pat it dry.

Dry Brine

For every pound of steak, rub ½ teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper into the surface. You can add a bit of smoked paprika, onion powder, granulated garlic, oregano, sage, or thyme into the brine, but make sure your choices don’t outweigh the salt. Place the meat on a rack with the spices for up to 48 hours in the refrigerator. Thoroughly pat dry before grilling. 

Remember: Tenderness isn't a single-step process. Choose the right cut, season or marinate it, cook it properly, let it rest, and then slice against the grain. Each step contributes to the final morsel.

Steak-Slicing FAQ

What does cutting steak against the grain mean?

It means that you are slicing the steak across the fibers as opposed to alongside them. This makes the meat easier to chew.

Why should you cut steak against the grain?

Cutting your steak against the grain breaks down the muscle fibers in each piece, reducing the work your teeth have to do. The difference is usually more noticeable in a steak with a large grain.

Should steak be sliced before or after resting?

After resting. You don’t want to cut into that perfect piece of meat right away. All of the juices will run out onto your cutting board.

How thick should steak slices be?

It depends on the cut of meat and how you plan to use it. For example, thin slices work for tacos, sandwiches, or salads, while thicker slices may be part of a main course.

How do you slice tri-tip?

Find the two grains on it. Remember the grain will change direction as you near the thicker end of the tri-tip roast, and you’ll need to turn your slicing direction at that point.

Does slicing steak really make it more tender?

Slicing against the grain does not make meat more tender. However, it can make meat feel better by cutting the muscle fibers so they are shorter, making each morsel succulent. 

Use a good Chef's Knife for Cutting Against the Grain

The Bottom Line

Cooking a great steak takes some attention both before and after cooking. The work doesn’t end when you pull it off the grill.

How you slice steak matters.

Find the grain. Rest the meat. Grab a sharp knife and cut across those fibers with smooth, deliberate strokes. It's a small technique with a surprisingly big payoff.

That’s How You Slice It

Ready to put your slicing skills to work?

Explore Cuso's selection of premium, signature rubs, then pair it with your steaks as a great finishing touch. Our all-natural, non-GMO line doesn’t end there. You can use 100% Wagyu tallow to enrich your dishes and have incredible-tasting barbecue sauces on hand for dipping. Join us on Instagram (@chefcuso) for the latest recipes and grilling tips. Tell us about what you’ve tried and how the dish came out. We’d love to hear from you.