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The way folks butcher a chuck roll these days drives me nuts
I've been cutting meat for close to 20 years, mostly at a spot outside Pittsburgh, and the number of guys who treat a chuck roll like it's a flat ribeye is wild. They'll slice across the grain in neat little steaks and call it done, but they're missing the whole point of the connective tissue and the marbling that runs in different directions. I had a kid last Tuesday bring me a chuck roll he'd mangled into six thin cuts, and I had to show him how to break it down into the flat iron, the Denver, and the chuck eye properly. It matters because if you don't separate those muscle groups, you get tough, chewy pieces that no amount of marinade can rescue. I learned this the hard way in 2011 when I ruined a whole 40 pound roll for a restaurant order, and the chef threw it back at me. Anyone else see this shortcut trend creeping in, or am I just yelling at the air here?
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the_jason18d ago
That 2011 story hits home, man, I've been there too. But honestly I think you're being a little hard on the kid. Breaking down a chuck roll into flat iron and Denver is the right move for a fancy steakhouse menu, but not every home cook or small diner wants three different cuts from one piece of meat. Some folks just want a decent steak they can throw on the grill Tuesday night, and slicing across the grain gets them 80% of the way there. The connective tissue thing is real, but a lot of those thin cuts work fine if you cook them hot and fast or braise them low. I'd rather see a guy make six thin cuts he can use than try to impress me with a fancy breakdown and waste half the roll.
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