Steak knives should be designed to cut through a thick piece of meat.
Enjoying a good steak or other substantial pieces of cooked meat can be a challenge without the help of quality steak knives. Steak knives are designed to cut through stringy cuts of meat much more efficiently than serrated butter knives or smooth-bladed kitchen knives. The serrated blades of steak knives allow the diner to take out a bite-sized portion with just a few strokes, while the handles keep the diner’s fingers away from the blade.
The main challenge in cutting a steak or other thick meat is overcoming the grain. Muscle tissue can be thought of as the bristles on a broom. The grain of meat runs in one direction, like the individual bristles of a broom. If a smooth blade knife is placed in the same direction or grain as the muscles, carving is relatively easy as the individual muscles split or move out of the way of the blade as it cuts.
If the blade of a smooth edge knife is placed against the grain or individual “bristles”, it can only cut a few strands at a time and may slip or slide while doing so. A serrated knife, on the other hand, can cut through the grain and cut through all the “bristles” when cutting through meat. This ability to cut with or against the grain is what gives knives their appeal as cutlery.
Every kitchen should have at least one good set of steak knives, if not more. Other types of knives can cut through more tender meats, but steak knives are designed to handle the demands of cutting through stringy and fatty meat without slipping or dull in the process. Using a serrated butter knife can be an exercise in futility, and ordinary kitchen knives may be too dangerous for younger children to use at the dining table.
Some steak knives can be very pointed and sharp, while others can have rounded edges and smaller teeth. Steakhouses, which cater primarily to families, may offer oversized rounded knives to their customers, while more upscale steakhouses and chops often rely on their clientele with sharper cutlery. Great care should be taken when washing and storing steak knives as they can get lost in the general cutlery population and cause serious problems for the dishwasher.