the GoodEater Collaborative

The Food Lab: Going Against the Grain

Can you spot the difference between the two hanger steaks? They were both cooked to a perfect 130°F medium-rare in the same pan, they are both cut from the same piece of meat, and they both sport a beautiful brown, crackly crust. Yet one of them is more tender than Otis Redding on a good day, while the other has more in common with a rubber band.

What’s the difference? It’s all got to do with the angle at which it’s sliced.