Chuck eye steak: what is it? And how do you cook it?

From frying, grilling, cooking to cutting

The chuck eye steak is a relatively unknown piece of meat. Chuck eye steaks are also known as “The Poor Man’s Ribeye” because of their lower price. 

But what exactly is the chuck eye steak? Read more about this versatile and affordable steak in this article.

Chuck eye steak
Chuck eye steak

Chapter 1

What is a chuck eye steak?

The chuck eye steak comes from the neck and lower rib of the beef. The rib eye steak is cut from the sixth to the twelfth rib and the chuck eye steak is cut from the fifth rib. So they are next to each other and that’s why they are very similar. And they have almost the same taste and texture.

The chuck eye steak is a bit darker and a more marbled piece of meat. That actually means that there is a vein of small fat streaks in the meat. The fat is actually in the meat, which is called intramuscular fat.

Chuck eye steak is slightly less tender than the rib eye. It is ideal for slow cooking, but you can also cook it on the grill.

Chapter 2

What does a chuck eye steak taste like?

Because the chuck eye steak has a good marbling in the muscles, it has a very strong beefy taste. Due to the extra fat that the chuck eye has compared to the ribeye, this steak has an even more intense taste.

Chapter 3

How do you cut the meat?

The muscle fibers in a piece of meat all run in one direction. This direction is called the grain of the flesh. By cutting across the grain, you cut the muscle fibers into short pieces, which makes the chuck eye steak much easier to chew and the meat is therefore much more tender.

Always look at the direction in which the muscle fibers of the meat run before you cut it. Place the steak in front of you on a cutting board. If you see that the grain runs horizontally from left to right, you cut vertically. And vice versa.

In other words, you always cut against the grain. If you don’t cut against the grain, it will be difficult to cut through the meat and you won’t get a nice structure.

Chapter 4

Which wine goes with it?

Chuck eye steak pairs very well with a full-bodied, high-tannin red wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, or Syrah. Bordeaux, or a delicious Italian wine from Piedmont or Tuscany, or a Californian Zinfandel from old canes also work well.

Chapter 5

How to cook chuck eye steak?

It’s best to remove the chuck eye steak from the freezer 24 hours before preparation and let it thaw in the refrigerator. Let the steak come to room temperature an hour before cooking it.

Are you going to grill the meat on the barbecue? Then you can marinate the steak with a tasty rub of, for example, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, coriander, chili flakes and sugar. But you can also use only salt and pepper.

Use a core thermometer to monitor the core temperature. You can maintain a core temperature of 50 °C for rare and 52 °C for medium rare and 54 °C for medium.

How much chuck eye steak can a person eat?

For a small eater, 180 grams of chuck eye is sufficient and for heavy eaters or real meat lovers you can count on 250 grams of chuck eye per person.

Frying

If you’re going to fry the chuck eye steak in a pan, you do this at a high temperature.

  • Always let the meat come to room temperature first.
  • Pat the meat dry with kitchen paper and brush it with enough oil.
  • Heat a frying pan or grill pan over high heat.
  • Cook the chuck eye steak until desired: 1 to 2 minutes per side for rare, 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium, 3 to 4 minutes per side for well done.
  • Let the meat rest on a plate for 5 to 8 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil.
  • Sprinkle it with some salt and pepper.

Grilling

If you’re going to barbecue chuck eye steak, you do this at a high temperature.

  • Prepare the barbecue at 120 °C for indirect grilling.
  • Season the chuck eye steak with a marinade of your choice.
  • Then place the steak on the barbecue.
  • Let it cook until it has reached a core temperature of 35 °C.
  • After this you can prepare the barbecue for direct grilling at 200 °C.
  • Grill the chuck eye steak to a core temperature of 50 °C.
  • If you prefer the steak medium rare or medium, cook the steak a little bit longer.
  • Let the meat rest for about 5 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil.

Roasting

If you want to cook the chuck eye steak in the oven, do so at a medium temperature.

  • Preheat the oven to 80°C.
  • Heat some butter and oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan.
  • Brown the steak on both sides for 3 minutes.
  • Remove the meat from the pan and place it in a baking dish.
  • Rinse the leftovers from the pan with some red wine and then let it reduce by half.
  • Pour it into the dish with the meat and put a knob of butter on top of the meat.
  • Insert the meat thermometer from the side to the center of the meat.
  • Let the meat cook for about 3 hours, to a core temperature of 50 °C.
  • Spoon the juices over the meat from time to time.
  • You can cut the meat right away, because it’s slow-cooked.
sous vide

Sous-vide cooking

Sous-vide is cooking vacuum-packed meat with steam or hot water, at a constant low temperature. With a sous-vide oven you can accurately determine the temperature to one degree.

  • Season the chuck eye steak with salt and pepper and place it in the vacuum bag.
  • Add a dash of olive oil and a sprig of thyme and vacuum the bag.
  • Meanwhile, heat up your sous-vide with a temperature of at least 50 °C.
  • Follow the table below to vary:
  • Rare: 50 to 52 °C
  • Medium rare: 52 to 54 °C
  • Medium: 54 to 58°C
  • Medium well: 58 to 62°C
  • Well done: 62 to 65 °C
  • After 1 hour to 1.5 hours, the steaks have reached the correct core temperature (depending on the thickness).
  • When the time is up, take the chuck eye out of the bag and pat it dry.
  • Brush the meat with olive oil and grill it on a hot barbecue.