Cheap steaks usually come at a cost: They can be pretty tough. If you've purchased a lean cut of meat like top round, you probably already know it's not as simple as just searing it off, as the muscular slices can take a lot of chewing once it's cooked. But that doesn't mean it's not worth eating, as long as you go through the trouble of tenderizing it.

That simply takes some manual labor. If you've got a meat tenderizer, you can use that to flatten and soften the steak by breaking apart the muscle fibers with a few choice whacks. This is not a bad way to let go of some extra stress before getting dinner started, though the banging can admittedly get a little loud. Some store-bought steaks already have that process done for you; they're labeled as cube (or cubed) steak. Those cuts have already undergone tenderizing by going through a process known as "Swissing," in which the meat has been pierced mechanically in order to soften it. If you prefer that texture but can't find it at the store, you can buy an OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Bladed Meat Tenderizer to do it for you.