The beef chuck comes from the front quarter of the cow and is essentially the entire shoulder area.
It accounts for roughly ~25-30% of the entire carcass weight.
When the beef chuck is initially separated from the beef plate at the 5th and 6th rib, it will contain part of the neck, upper arm/shoulder, fore-shank, and brisket.
The brisket and foreshank are removed by cutting just above the elbow joint – through the cartilage of the first rib.
The brisket is then separated from the foreshank via the natural contour of the elbow.
The brisket and foreshank are then removed to create their own respective primals.
What are Sub-primal Cuts from the Chuck?
From the chuck, we get the following sub-primals:
- Square-cut chuck
- Shoulder clod
Other resources might list things like “chuck tender” or “chuck roll” but in most cases these end up being retail cuts as apposed to actual sub-primals like the clod or square-cut chuck.
Cuts from the chuck are known to be rich and beefy.
They’re also typically quite tough due to the fact that they’re mostly used for locomotion.
The fabrication of this section of the animal is really at the discretion of the butcher.
Often, the sub-primals and their resulting retail cuts are broken down into roasts for slow cooking; Methods that allow for collagen/connective tissues to render and break down.
What are Retail Cuts from the Chuck?
From the chuck we mainly get roasts and ground beef. However, there are a few steaks that get fabricated too.
- Chuck roast (sometimes sold whole as a full “chuck roll”)
- Chuck short ribs
- English cut short ribs (between the bone)
- Thin, Flanken cut (across the bone)
- Flat iron steak (top blade – second most tender on the animal)
- Chuck eye steak (extension of ribeye and contains similar musculature)
- Shoulder clod arm roast (English Roast)
- Mock tender
- Teres major (from the shoulder clod, lean and tender)
- Underblade (subscapularis)
- Roasts can be broken down into Denver steaks
- Neck roast (literally the neck of the animal)
- Ground beef
- Cube steak
- Stew meat
Again, what’s cut from this section really depends on where you’re from and what sells.
Where I’m from, all I ever see are chuck roasts, English cut short ribs, and ground beef.
It’s worth noting that unlike the round primal – which is similarly used to make roasts – the meat that’s found in the chuck is far more flavorful simply due to the fact that it contains more fat.
Round cuts are quite lean and tough and the “roasts” tend to be quite lacking.
Where-as the roasts from the chuck are super flavorful and beefy.