Slicing Meat for Stir-Fries

By Zoe McLaughlin
A new video for Video Friday

These few simple steps will facilitate slicing thin pieces of meat for any stir-fry dish and result in tender bites. This technique works best with flank, skirt and blade steaks, as well as pork tenderloin and thick fish steaks, such as halibut or salmon.

First, place the protein in the freezer for a minimum of 15 minutes but not more than 30 minutes. Allowing the meat or fish to sit in the freezer firms up the flesh and makes it much easier to slice thinly.

While the meat or fish is in the freezer, hone your knife of choice. It is very important to have a sharp blade in order to get a clean, thin slice.

After the appropriate time, remove the protein from the freezer and cut against the grain as shown in this video. Meat is composed of bundled long muscle fibers that are laid out parallel to one another. Cutting against the grain cuts through these fibers, resulting in tender slices of meat.

Here are some recipes to practice your meat-slicing skills.

• Cumin Beef with Celery
• Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
• Asian Beef Sandwiches with Slaw

Zoe McLaughlin was born in Paris and grew up in San Francisco. Her international background has influenced her love of cooking and her dedication to learning about global cuisines and cooking methods. Zoe is a recent graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris. She followed her degree with an intensive stagiare position at a bistro in Paris before returning to San Francisco. Zoe enjoys sharing the knowledge and skills she has learned from her culinary degree, apprenticeships and world travel. She is the author of a self-published cookbook, Around our Table, focusing on Asian and French cuisines.

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