How to Cut Skirt Steak in 5 Steps

Skirt steak is a cut of beef that comes from the plate primal, found below the ribs (in the diaphragm muscle area) of a cow. Skirt steak includes the inside skirt and outside skirt, with the outside skirt being a little thicker, more tender, and more uniformly shaped than the former. The outside skirt steak typically ends up in commercial kitchens, so you’re more likely to find the tougher and smaller inside skirt steak at most grocery stores. When you order steak fajitas or steak tacos, you’ll most commonly see skirt steak as the featured meat.

Skirt steak has a savory, beefy flavor, and an equally marbled and lean texture that responds well to marinating, which can help soften the meat. It is longer and narrower than other cuts of beef, resulting in skinnier pieces of steak. Skirt steak cooks well under high heat cooking methods like grilling, broiling, or even pan-searing in a cast-iron skillet. Cook skirt steak to a medium-rare level of doneness, because anything more will result in a tough and overcooked piece of meat.

Cutting against the grain is a slicing method that makes the meat easier to chew. The “grain” refers to the way that the muscle fibers and connective tissue of the cow run together, contributing to the toughness or tenderness of a cut of meat. Cutting along the grain will minimize the surface area of the grain fibers and make it chewier. Slicing against the muscle grain shortens the muscle fibers in a piece of meat, making it easier to chew. Skirt steak (like flank steak) is one of the tougher cuts of meat and is always best when you cut it against the grain.

The best way to cut skirt steak is to always cut against the grain of the muscle fibers, as is the case with most cuts of steak. When you cut meat against the grain, you make it more tender and easy to chew. Follow this guide to learn how to properly cut a skirt steak to yield the most tender and flavorful bite.

1. 1. Prepare the meat and gather your tools. Place your raw skirt steak on a cutting board and grab your carving fork and a sharp knife. You can either use a chef’s knife or a boning knife to slice your skirt steak.
2. 2. Slice off some of the fat. Unroll your skirt steak, find the lining of fat, and place the steak with the fat side facing up. Holding your knife horizontally with the blade facing away from your body, slide the tip of your knife beneath the layer of fat. Move the knife parallel to the cutting board, across the length of the steak to remove the layer of fat. As you slide the knife, it should separate some of the fat from the rest of the meat. However, you should avoid cutting into the meat so that your steak remains juicy. Once you’ve removed the layer of fat, peel off any of the fatty membrane that remains on the meat slab.
3. 3. Cook your meat. Cook your skirt steak to medium-rare using your preferred cooking method. Let the meat cool on the cutting board for five to eight minutes to give the juices time to settle before you slice into it.
4. 4. Identify the grain of the meat. You can identify the direction of the grain by observing which way the muscle fibers run. The muscle fibers appear as small, shortways striations that run longitudinally across the meat. This means that you’ll want to cut across the meat horizontally. Keep your knife at a forty-five-degree angle, positioning the blade perpendicular to the direction of the connective tissue’s grain.
5. 5. Cut the meat. Holding the piece of meat in place with your carving fork, carve off thin, quarter-inch slices against the grain, working your way from one end of the meat to the other.

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