Why is cutting meat against the grain important? What determines grain direction?
In: Biology
Like with wood the “grain” is the direction of the different colored lines/streaks you see in the meat. This is easier to identify in certain cuts of meat over others. With meat the grain is actual muscle fibers.
The reason it matters is because cutting across (perpendicular) breaks apart the muscle fiber rather than having long stretches of the same muscle. When you’re chewing meat breaking apart these fibers is most of the work your mouth is doing. This means if the piece is already cut across the grain breaking those fibers up the piece will be less chewy and more tender.
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