Chuck Wagon

by Mark R. Vogel

Chuck is the general term for the meat from the shoulder section of cattle. Cuts from the chuck tend to be tough with notable connective tissue and intramuscular fat. This is because these muscles are regularly used.

However, chuck is also very flavorful. Since the meat is usually tough, wet cooking methods must be employed, namely stewing and braising. Nothing beats chuck for good ole fashioned comfort-classics like beef stew and pot roast.

Pot roast is not roasted, it's braised, i.e., cooked partially submerged in liquid, at low heat for an extended period of time. If you were to cut it into bite sized chunks and cook it completely submerged in liquid, then you'd be stewing.

A few steaks are fabricated from certain sections of the chuck. You would cook these as you would any other steak, with dry heat methods, (sautéing, broiling, grilling, etc.)

They are tasty and economical but don't expect them to be like a rib eye or fillet mignon. The meat will definitely be a little chewy.

Anatomically, the chuck is comprised of a plethora of different muscles. This results in a variety of different cuts and roasts, each with a multitude of names.

For example, steaks from the chuck are known as chuck steak, chuck eye steak, chuck fillet, Swiss steak, and mock tender to name a few. Virtually every cut of the chuck has a laundry list of names associated with it.

This becomes even more confusingly true with the multifarious roasts the chuck can yield: Arm roast, 7-bone roast, blade roast, shoulder roast, cross rib roast, top blade roast, have I made my point yet?

OK, let's simplify this quagmire. How do you begin to choose chuck meat? Let's start with the steaks. There's not going to be a tremendous amount of difference between the various steaks that are cut from the chuck.