Beef Chuck

Name: Beef chuck — the cut from the shoulder and neck of the cow, a flavourful, well-marbled and fairly tough cut, sold as chuck steak, chuck roast, blade, and used for stewing steak and much ground beef.

Description

Chuck is a hard-working muscle group, with plenty of connective tissue and fat, so it has a rich beef flavour and becomes tender with slow, moist cooking. It is one of the cheapest and most useful cuts of beef, and is the standard cut for pot roasts, stews, braises and ground beef for burgers.

Some parts of the chuck, such as the chuck eye, are tender enough to grill like ribeye, and are sometimes called the “poor man's ribeye.” The rest benefit from long cooking, which melts the collagen into gelatin.

Main nutrition value

Beef is a rich source of high-quality protein, highly absorbable haem iron, zinc, vitamin B12, selenium and niacin, with the amount of fat varying by cut. Chuck is moderately fatty, with more fat than sirloin or round.

How best to be consumed

Chuck is best braised or stewed.

1. Brown cubes or a roast in a hot pan, then braise with stock, wine, onions and root vegetables for 2 to 3 hours until tender.
2. Make beef stew, goulash, chilli, ragù, boeuf bourguignon or pot roast.
3. Grind it for burgers, since chuck gives juicy, flavourful patties.
4. Slice chuck eye steak and grill quickly, like a ribeye.
5. Cook long and slow, until fork-tender, and rest before slicing.

Overconsumption could cause…

Chuck is healthy in moderation, as part of a varied diet.

1. Higher risk of bowel (colorectal) cancer with regular high intake of red meat, which the World Health Organization's cancer agency classifies as probably carcinogenic, so many health bodies advise keeping red meat to about 350 to 500 g (cooked weight) a week.
2. Raised LDL cholesterol and heart disease risk from the saturated fat in fattier cuts, skin and processed products, so choose lean cuts and trim visible fat.
3. Food poisoning (E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter) from undercooked meat, especially minced meat and burgers where bacteria are mixed all the way through, so cook mince to 71°C and use a thermometer. This applies when it is ground.
4. Iron overload in people with haemochromatosis, an inherited condition, since the haem iron in red meat and offal is well absorbed.
5. Gout flare-ups in people with gout, since meat and especially organ meats are high in purines.

GroupsBeefMammals (red meat)High proteinHigh saturated fatLow sodiumRich in zincFresh

Related foodsBeef Mince / Ground BeefBeef BrisketBeef RibeyeCorned BeefBeef Flank SteakVeal

Wikipedia — Chuck steak, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_steak