Meet Chuck!

Hey friends,

One of the best home-butchery projects for saving money and getting a huge yield of meat is to tackle the chuck roll. The chuck roll is about 25-30 lbs, and I bought one recently for $4.68/lb. That’s a great deal.

My favorite places to buy a whole chuck roll, and other primal cuts, are Costco, Sam’s, and The Chef’s Store. You can also ask your local butcher if they’ll sell you a whole chuck roll.

So what’s so special about the chuck roll? I’m glad you asked! First off, it is a sub-primal cut that comes from the the chuck primal cut. That large cut can weigh about 100 lbs and makes up 30% of the entire cow. The chuck is the area around the front shoulders of the cow, including some of the neck muscle. Because it’s so muscular, the meat tends to be one of the tougher cuts, but it’s also got great flavor.

There are four cuts you can get out of your chuck roll: the chuck eye steak, the Denver steak, the chuck roast, and ground beef. Between these four cuts, you’ve got a some great dinners in your future! For the steaks, you can grill or sauté them, but since it's a tougher cut of meat, don't cook past medium. For the chuck roast, the key is to braise it or roast "low and slow."

Let me just highlight one of these cuts that you might not be familiar with—the Denver steak. When I worked in hotel kitchens, this cut was a favorite. You can grill it as a steak, and it’s a lot like a strip steak. You can also cut it into chunks for stew. In fact, it works for just about any type of beef dish you want to prepare. Out of the chuck roll, you can get 5 or 6 Denver steaks depending on how thick you want to cut them.

So, ready to cut some meat? You can click the link below to see the video where I walk you through the process of cutting down the chuck roll.

—Brad