Proteins
Denver Steak
Tender, richly marbled steak cut from the chuck under-blade; surprisingly soft for a chuck cut, it grills or pan-sears well and slices cleanly against the grain.
The Denver steak is one of the great comeback stories of the modern butcher's case. It is cut from the serratus ventralis, a small muscle that sits under the blade in the chuck roll — a part of the animal that, until the late 2000s, was almost always ground or rolled into chuck roasts. Muscle-profiling research funded through the National Cattlemen's Beef Association mapped the chuck muscle by muscle and discovered that this particular one was unusually tender, with marbling that rivals a ribeye. The result is a thick, juicy steak that cooks like a mid-tier loin cut but carries the deep, beefy flavor of the shoulder.
What sets the Denver apart in the kitchen is its structure. The serratus ventralis is shaped by its job — it helps the animal breathe — and the fibers run in two directions, divided by a thin seam of connective tissue. A careless slice across the whole steak cuts with one grain and against the other, leaving half the portion chewy. The fix is simple: locate the seam, separate the muscle into two pieces, and slice each piece against its own grain. Cooks who learn this trick get every bite as tender as the best flat iron.
Because the muscle is small (roughly 1.5 to 2 pounds per side of beef) and the seam-out butchery takes a steady hand, supply is tight and prices sit above most other chuck cuts. That scarcity is worth knowing about: many shops will special-order it on request if you ask for the under-blade or serratus ventralis from the chuck roll.
- Measured in
- g
- Storage
- Refrigerate Sealed In The Coldest Part; Use Within A Few Days Or Freeze.
Find it in
Types & varieties
The standard thick-cut steak from the serratus ventralis; the version most often sold at retail.
The same muscle left whole or tied into a small roast; less common, but offered by some whole-animal butchers.
A sister cut from the top blade (infraspinatus) muscle, developed through the same muscle-profiling project; nearly identical in tenderness and price.
Another sister cut, from the teres major; small, tender, and frequently mislabeled as tenderloin medallions.
Sister cut from the shoulder clod; leaner and more affordable, suited to marinating.
The double-grain problem and how to solve it
The serratus ventralis is a fan-shaped muscle, and its fibers change direction roughly at the midpoint. Slicing straight down the length of the steak in one pass means you are cutting with the grain on one side and against it on the other. The chewy half will frustrate even careful cooks. The standard solution is to split the steak along the thin silvery seam that runs through the middle, then slice each half separately, always perpendicular to the visible fiber direction. A good butcher will often pre-split the steak or score the seam to show you where the two grains meet — a useful hint not to skip.
- Lay the steak flat and look for the seam; it is usually visible as a faint pale line.
- Slice through the seam to separate the muscle into two pieces, each with a single, clear grain direction.
- Slice each piece across the grain into ½-inch portions for plating, or thinner for fajitas and stir-fries.
- If serving whole, leave the seam intact but cut the steak in half crosswise before slicing for the table.
Common uses
Tips & pitfalls
- Pat the steak dry and salt it generously with coarse kosher salt at least 40 minutes before cooking; the dry surface is the difference between a gray steak and a real crust.
- Get the grill or pan as hot as it will go — a screaming-hot cast-iron skillet or hard charcoal — and sear for 2 to 3 minutes per side before moving to indirect heat to finish to temperature.
- Pull the steak at 125 to 130°F (52–55°C) and tent it loosely; carryover will bring it to a perfect medium-rare during the 5- to 7-minute rest.
- Always slice after resting, not before — cutting too early bleeds the juices onto the board instead of back into the meat.
- Skip the heavy marinade unless you are slicing thin for stir-fry; the flavor is already rich and bold sauces can mask it.
- Do not braise it. This is a dry-heat cut; long, moist cooking turns the texture past tender and into mushy.
- Use a finishing flake of Maldon or similar finishing salt, a pat of herb butter, and a squeeze of lemon — the cut does not need much more than that.
- If you cannot find it labeled, ask the butcher for the under-blade or serratus ventralis from the chuck roll; most will cut one to order.
Nutrition
Nutrition
No USDA FoodData Central match for Denver Steak yet. We surface a per-100 g profile once a generic whole-food entry is matched and verified.
In the shops
Matched grocery products
No matched grocery products for Denver Steak yet.
Good to know
- Also known as
- Denver cut, under-blade steak
- Primal cut
- Chuck (specifically the chuck roll)
- Muscle of origin
- Serratus ventralis (under-blade)
- Developed by
- NCBA Beef Innovations Program, based on University of Florida muscle-profiling research
- Introduced
- Commercially marketed starting around 2010–2012
- Typical steak size
- 8–12 oz (225–340 g), about 1 to 1¼ inches thick
- Tenderness
- Comparable to top sirloin in shear tests; among the most tender muscles in the chuck
- Yield per carcass
- Roughly 1.5–2 lb per side, making it relatively scarce
- Best internal temperature
- 130–140°F (54–60°C); overcooking turns it tough
- Storage
- 1–2 days refrigerated raw; 6–12 months vacuum-sealed and frozen
Substitutes
- Flat Iron Steak — The closest match in tenderness, marbling, and price; slightly looser grain but cooks and slices in nearly the same way.
- Skirt Steak — Very beefy and best at medium-rare; thinner, so it cooks in a flash and must be sliced sharply against the grain.
- Hanger Steak — Equally rich, with a slightly livery, mineral edge; rarer at retail but a true 1:1 swap when you can find it.
- Tri-Tip — Leaner and a touch firmer, but grills and slices well; budget-friendly and widely available.
- Flank Steak — Leaner and chewier, so it benefits from a brief marinade; works for fajita- and stir-fry-style applications.
Pairs with
Also called
denver cut · under blade steak · denver steak
