Getting Most From Chuck Roast
Beef chuck comes from the steer’s shoulder and is made up of several muscles having varying degrees of tenderness. It amounts to 26% of the animal carcass and may be butchered into a variety of cuts, one of which is the blade chuck roast.
When selecting this type of roast, let the shape of the bone and size of the “eye” muscle be the guide. Cuts closest to the rib have a long, thin bone shaped like the blade of a knife, the largest portion of eye and are the most tender.
In the center of the chuck a ridge appears on the top side of the blade bone and the eye becomes practically nonexistent. Near the neck, the blade bone changes in shape to resemble a figure seven and the name of the cut changes to seven-bone chuck.
Moist cooking methods are typically recommended for any roast cut from the chuck to ensure the tougher portions become tender. When a blade chuck roast is divided into its component parts, however, each may be cooked according to its natural tenderness.
The roast is easily separated into three parts by cutting away the blade and back bones and through the natural seams of fat. One 3 1/2 to five-pound chuck blade roast will yield two steaks plus enough meat to prepare three additional meals for two.
The tender muscle above the blade bone, sometimes called the “flatiron,” is removed by cutting along the top side of the bone (Step 1). Once the outer fat is cut away, this muscle may be sliced into strips for stir-frying or stroganoff (Step 2).
The eye lies next to the chine bone (actually half of the steer’s backbone), along the bottom of the chuck. Remove it by running a knife along the natural seam between the eye and the muscle above, then right next to the bone (Step 3). Slice the eye horizontally to make two Spencer steaks for frying or broiling.
Meat from the largest, center muscle is the least tender. Cut this muscle away from the bone (Step 4) and into stew cubes (Step 5) or pound (Step 6) for Swiss steak.
The bones that have been removed from the roast are excellent for making beef stock.
