Beef Chuck

Beef chuck is a shoulder cut from the forequarter, sold as roasts and steaks. It has abundant connective tissue and intramuscular fat that become tender with slow, moist heat, yielding succulent, shreddable meat. Use it for braises, stews, pot roast, chili, ground beef, or low-and-slow smoking; common retail forms include chuck roast, chuck steak, and chuck eye.

Western butchery defines the chuck primal and subdivides it into blade and arm sections; many cuisines braise it, from American pot roast to French boeuf bourguignon and Mexican carne guisada. Packers typically debone and roll the chuck for chuck roll or shoulder clod, which retailers cut into roasts or stew meat.