There's something comforting about those huge chunks of chuck roast. It's a common cut, and yet some of my fondest memories are tied to it, as my grandmother made one killer pot roast. Maybe it's a primal Pavlovian response, causing a rush of endorphins to my brain upon seeing all that muscle and fat. Either way, there is no doubt that if you want drool inducing roasts, you've got to head straight to the chuck.
Cut: Square Cut Chuck
The chuck is essentially a whole cow shoulder, also known as a clod, and when removed from the forequarter is called a cross-cut chuck. It weighs about 100 pounds, and makes up roughly 23% of the carcass. The chuck primal itself is bigger than its brethren and harbors the most seam fat, too. With so much meat coming from one area, it means that it's the most plentiful cut of beef available, and therefore the most economical cut you can find.
When the brisket is removed (don't worry, we'll be covering that barbecue darling soon), the cross-cut chuck becomes an arm chuck. Remove the foreshank, and we have a square-cut chuck which is composed of four large muscles and a bunch of little ones. The largest of the big muscles is the eye of chuck, and is often sold as chuck eye roast. The smallest of the large crew is actually something I've already covered, the shoulder tender. Moving on, the meat found under the shoulder blade is sometimes called under-blade pot roast or if cut into steaks, under-blade steaks. The meat above the blade, the aptly named top blade, is a small muscle that is shaped much like a triangle. You probably know it better by its marketing name, the flatiron steak.
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