Food - Drink
The Reason Your Steak Is So Chewy
By KALEA MARTIN
If your steak looks and smells perfect but gives your jaw a workout when you bite into it, it can be really difficult to enjoy. When you bite into a chewy piece of steak, you may assume that your steak has been overcooked, but undercooking has a similar outcome due to the fat and protein content of the meat and how it transforms during the cooking process.
When exposed to too much heat, the fat within the muscles gets rendered out completely, ridding the steak of the moisture that makes it tender. On the other hand, if that fat doesn't have enough time to break down, the resulting steak will be as tough as it would be if it were overcooked.
If your steak is chewy due to undercooking, all you need to do is throw it back on the grill and allow it to reach an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit. However, if the steak has already been overcooked, you'll have to start over with a new one and take proper precautions, starting with a marinade.