Choosing the Most Tender Grade

• Nutritionists have conditioned us to look for lean cuts of meat with minimal fat, but lean cuts often disappoint us with their tough, chewy texture. Look for USDA Choice grade beef that has tiny veins of white fat running throughout the meat. Called marbling, this fat separates the meat fibers that create the chewy texture and keeps the meat moist during cooking. USDA Choice beef with a large amount of marbling is tender, juicy and flavorful. Don't be fooled by meat labeled "prime" or "choice" without the USDA label. These terms are sometimes used loosely to deceive the home cook.

Choosing the Most Tender Cuts

• You also need to choose the best cut of beef for your cooking method. Steaks cut from the loin and rib areas, such as a tenderloin filet or rib steak, are more tender than steaks cut from the sirloin, chuck or round. With the exception of the filet mignon, the most tender steaks are the ones with the most fat marbling. Aged beef is held under carefully controlled conditions to develop additional tenderness and flavor. While aged beef is usually superior to beef that has not been aged, it is also more expensive.

Cooking Methods Matter

• The porterhouse, T-bone, rib-eye, New York strip and tenderloin filets are perfect for cooking over hot, dry heat such as a grill. Chuck steaks, bottom sirloin steaks, round steaks and blade steaks are not ideal for cooking over dry heat. They tend to be tougher because the meat is cut from muscles that get a lot of use and have little fat. Less tender meats can be improved by marinating the meat or by braising it slowly over low heat. Avoid using the microwave for cooking or defrosting beef. Microwave cooking steams and tends to toughen the meat.

Cooking Instructions for Tender Beef

• Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking. Sear the beef quickly on the outside over high heat, then lower the heat to continue cooking. For thinly cut steaks, searing may be all that is needed. Thicker steaks and roasts benefit from moving to a cooler portion of the grill, a preheated oven or by turning the temperature down slightly when pan-frying. Some recipes may not call for searing first, especially when meat is braised or cooked in the slow cooker, but searing develops more flavor in the beef.

Ideal Cooking Temperatures

• The ideal cooking temperature is a matter of personal preference. Beef is more tender when cooked to rare or medium-rare, but the USDA recommends cooking to at least medium doneness, 145 degrees Fahrenheit, for food safety reasons. Longer cooking dries out the meat and makes it more chewy. For best results, cook each piece of beef to ideal temperature using an instant-read meat thermometer. Beef is considered rare at 120 F internal temperature. Rare meat is still deep red in the center. Medium-rare, with a lighter red center, is 130 F; medium is 140 F and pink inside; medium-well, at 150 F, is still slightly pink inside; and 160 F is well done with no pink left in the meat. Remember that beef continues to cook during the resting period, with the temperature rising 5 to 10 F or more.

Carving Like a Pro

• Carving your beef is your final step in cooking beef like a pro. Some cuts such as brisket and skirt steak are especially vulnerable to carving mistakes. Beef that is cut across the grain will be the most tender, while meat cut with the grain will be stringy and tough. The grain refers to the bundles of muscle fibers. When cut with the grain, you will see small round ends of muscle bundles that have been cut. Meat cut against the grain reveals long strings of muscle that are hard to chew. Cut one slice and look at it closely. If you see strings of muscle, rotate the meat and slice again. Those beautiful diagonal cuts of steak may look nice on the plate, but they sometimes catch longer strings of muscle, making the beef tougher than it needs to be.