PSA: My uncle told me to always cut pork shoulder with the grain for stew meat, but I tried against the grain last week and it's way more tender.

He swore it would fall apart in the pot, but I did a side by side test with two batches. The against-the-grain pieces stayed together fine and were just so much easier to chew. Has anyone else found this with specific cuts?

3 comments

3 Comments

paigewood7d agoTop Commenter

Wait, you can cut stew meat against the grain? I always did it with the grain because that's what I was told too, something about it holding up better. But your test makes total sense. If you think about it, shorter muscle fibers from cutting against the grain should always be more tender, even in a stew. I guess I just never questioned the old advice. I'm definitely trying it your way next time.

gavinwood6d ago

Charles_henderson is right, always cut against the grain.

charles_henderson7d ago

My dad insisted on the same thing with chuck roast for years. I finally tried cutting a batch of beef stew meat against the grain last winter and it was a total game changer. The pieces stayed intact during the braise but just melted apart in your mouth. That old rule about it holding together better is just wrong for slow cooking. I won't go back.