Kevin Smith is a master butcher, chef, and co-owner of Beast &amp; Cleaver, The Peasant, and Little Beast in Seattle. The Peasant has been named a top Seattle restaurant by The Seattle Met, Eater, and The Infatuation. Kevin was also nominated for Best Emerging Chef by the James Beard Foundation.

Kevin Smith

When a beautifully cooked hunk of beef hits the table at a steakhouse, you know what to do: Roll up your sleeves and go to town. 
 
Steak is beauty, steak is life, and that’s true whether you use a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/make-your-own-steak-knives">razor sharp steak knife</a> and a fork, or you grab the dang thing in your hands like the glorious carnivorous animal you are and down it in huge, honking bites. There’s no wrong way to eat steak. 
 
However, we believe that when you’re served a whole, unsliced steak at a restaurant, there is a way to slice it on the plate that maximizes enjoyment—making it more tender and more delicious. And it isn’t as simple as “slice against the grain”; it’s about taking into consideration the unique attributes of specific steak cuts, their disparate muscle groups and fat content, when the only tools at your disposal are a steak knife and a fork. 
 
We turned to master butcher Kevin Smith of Seattle’s <a href="https://beastandcleaver.com/">Beast and Cleaver</a> to fill us in on how he likes to cut up three “trophy” steak cuts that people love to order at steakhouses—<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/sous-vide-filet-mignon">filet mignon</a>, <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/porterhouse-steak">porterhouse</a>, and bone-in ribeye. It’s a master class in enjoying the best beef cuts to the absolute max. 
 
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Perfectly cooked steak (<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/porterhouse-steak">porterhouse</a>, <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/sous-vide-filet-mignon">filet</a>, ribeye)
Steak knife
Fork

Tips & Tricks: How to Carve Steaks for Maximum Tenderness