Most people walk into the grocery store and grab the same beef cuts every single time. Ribeye. Sirloin. Maybe a New York strip if it’s on sale. But right next to those familiar packages sit cuts that cost way less and taste just as good, sometimes even better. The funny thing is, butchers have known about these cuts for years. Some of them used to keep the best ones for themselves instead of putting them out for sale. So what are these cuts, and why does almost nobody buy them?
Chuck eye steak is basically a cheaper ribeye
Ever stood at the meat counter and wondered why one steak costs twelve dollars a pound while the one right next to it costs six? A lot of the time, the cheaper one is a chuck eye steak. This cut comes from the shoulder area, right next to where ribeyes are cut. That means the meat has similar marbling and a very similar taste. But because it has the word “chuck” in its name, people assume it’s a lesser piece of meat. It’s not. It’s basically a ribeye’s next-door neighbor, and it costs about half the price.
Here’s where things get confusing though. The chuck eye can go by a bunch of different names depending on the store. Some places call it a Delmonico steak. Others call it an English steak. One single cut of beef can have up to ten different names. That’s nuts. The best thing to do is walk up to the person behind the counter and ask what part of the cow the meat actually comes from. Forget the name on the label. The location on the animal tells the real story about what the meat will taste like and how tender it will be.
Flat iron steaks were a butcher’s secret
Back in the 1990s, cattle prices dropped really low. The beef industry needed to figure out how to sell more meat. So they paid universities to study 39 different muscles in the shoulder and leg areas that most people totally ignored. What they found was pretty wild. One muscle in the shoulder turned out to be the second most tender part of the entire cow. Only the tenderloin beat it. That muscle became what we now know as the flat iron steak, and it completely changed how people think about cheap cuts of beef.
Before this research, butchers actually called it “butcher’s steak” because they would keep it for themselves. Why would they sell it to customers when they could take it home and eat it? Now that the secret is out, flat irons show up at a lot more stores and restaurants. They cost way less than a filet mignon but deliver a similar level of tenderness with more actual beef taste. The trick is to cook them fast. Grill them or pan-sear them over high heat. Don’t overthink it. A quick sear on both sides and a few minutes of rest is all this cut needs to shine.
Hanger steak has a supply problem
Hanger steak shows up on restaurant menus all the time now. It sounds fancy, and it tastes great. But here’s something most people don’t realize. Each cow only produces about one and a half pounds of hanger steak. That’s it. The cut literally hangs between the rib and the loin, which is why it stays so tender and rich. The muscle doesn’t do much work, so the meat stays soft. But because there’s so little of it per animal, the demand creates a real problem when everyone wants to order the same thing.
Massachusetts butcher Terry Ragasa makes a good point about this. When ten people order hanger steak at a restaurant, that means ten different cows were involved. Meanwhile, huge parts of those same cows don’t get used. Ragasa suggests looking at cuts from the chuck instead, since that area makes up almost a third of the total meat on one animal. Ranch steak and Denver steak both come from the chuck and taste great. The hanger is delicious for sure, but it makes more sense to save it for special occasions rather than making it a regular weeknight dinner.
Denver steak got its name from a focus group
Nobody in Denver invented the Denver steak. The name came from marketing committees who were trying to figure out what would actually sell. When researchers found tender muscles in the chuck that could work as steaks, they needed names that sounded appealing. Calling something an “underblade steak” doesn’t exactly get people excited, right? So they tested different names with regular consumers and discovered that Western-themed names did better than anything else. Denver steak won the contest, even though it has zero connection to Colorado.
This naming game works great for sales, but it drives butchers absolutely crazy. Adam Danforth, who teaches butchery classes, says that shops can’t keep all the different names straight. Sometimes stores will call a triceps muscle a “faux flat iron” even though it’s a totally different cut. That means customers don’t always know what they’re buying or how to cook it the right way. It would be way easier if cuts just kept their real names based on where they come from on the animal. But that’s not how the beef world works anymore, unfortunately.
Skirt steak works best inside a taco
Skirt steak comes from the plate section, which runs along the bottom middle of the cow. It has a thick grain and intense beef taste, and that’s why it shows up in fajitas and carne asada all the time. But cooking this cut right is harder than most people expect. The grain runs really thick through the meat, and if it’s not sliced against that grain properly, each bite turns into a chewing marathon. It takes a lot more attention than just throwing it on the grill and hoping for the best.
Chef Yester Banuchyan calls skirt steak the most troubling cut to work with. The meat itself is tough to begin with. It’s almost unwieldy and needs a lot of effort just to get cooked properly. The best approach is to marinate it for several hours first, then cook it fast over high heat. After that, slice it super thin against the grain. When it’s chopped up inside tacos or mixed into fajitas with other ingredients, skirt steak works really well. As a standalone steak sitting alone on a plate? There are much better options for that kind of meal.
Round steak is cheap for a reason
When round steak goes on sale at a really low price, there’s a good reason for it. This cut comes from the rear leg of the cow, and that leg does a ton of work while the animal is alive. All that movement makes the muscle dense and tough with almost no fat running through it. No fat means no marbling. And no marbling means the meat dries out fast and doesn’t have much going on in terms of taste. It sounds like a bargain at the register, but it can be a disappointment on the plate.
Chef Isabella Flint points out that the lack of fat gives round steak a tough feel and takes away from any real beef taste. There’s also a tiny window between getting it cooked just right and ending up with something that’s hard to chew. But round steak isn’t completely useless. It works really well when ground up for burgers or turned into jerky. Some people cube it for stews where it can cook low and slow in liquid. Just don’t try to grill a round steak and expect it to compete with a ribeye. That’s a losing battle every time.
Filet mignon is overrated according to chefs
This might sound crazy, but a lot of professional chefs think filet mignon is pretty boring. The late Anthony Bourdain famously called tenderloin “the most boring and uninteresting piece of meat on the animal.” The problem is that filet mignon has almost no fat. Sure, it’s tender because the muscle doesn’t do any work during the cow’s life. But tender doesn’t automatically mean delicious. Without fat, there’s not much actual beef taste happening. People pay premium prices mostly for a soft feel rather than real satisfaction.
Christopher Arturo from the Institute of Culinary Education agrees. He says filet mignon doesn’t have the marbling or structure that makes a steak truly great. To him, it’s always too soft and lacking in real beef taste. Steve Ozbolt from Emerald City Catering puts it even more bluntly. There’s virtually no fat, which means nothing interesting going on. If someone wants a large piece of lean meat, a sirloin does the same job for half the price. Better yet, grab a ribeye with beautiful marbling that’s both tender and packed with real taste. The ribeye wins that matchup every single time.
London broil isn’t actually a cut of beef
Here’s something that confuses almost everybody. London broil isn’t a cut of beef at all. It started as a cooking method that somehow got turned into a label for whatever tough cut the butcher couldn’t sell under its real name. Originally, London broil meant marinated flank steak that was broiled and then sliced thin. But over the years, butchers started sticking the London broil label on bottom round, top round, sirloin tip, and basically any chewy piece of meat they needed to get rid of.
Chef Gabriel Glasier says there’s nothing worse than a London broil. The cut offers a tough and chewy feel that’s completely lacking in marbling. A lot of times it ends up being a portion of bottom round that has to be marinated, cooked perfectly, and sliced just right to even be worth eating. How hard is it to just be honest about what’s actually being sold? It’s a good idea to be a little suspicious whenever a steak has an unfamiliar name. If something sounds too fancy or too vague, ask questions before handing over any money.
The cuts that are actually worth buying
So what should someone actually grab at the butcher counter? The chuck eye is totally worth it if the store carries it. It has the marbling and tenderness of a ribeye but costs a lot less. The flat iron is another solid pick that delivers on both taste and feel. Both of these cuts come from the shoulder area, and they’ve been hiding in plain sight at most grocery stores for years. Once someone tries them, it’s hard to go back to paying double for a ribeye.
For anyone looking for something a little different, Denver steak and ranch steak from the chuck are great options too. They’re tender, full of real beef taste, and use more of the animal instead of the same tiny popular cuts everyone fights over. The biggest takeaway here is simple. Don’t just settle for what’s prepackaged or what has the fanciest name. Walk up to the counter, ask where the cut comes from on the cow, and let that information guide the decision. A little bit of knowledge goes a really long way at the meat counter.
The beef case at any grocery store has a lot more going on than most people realize. The expensive cuts with the famous names aren’t always the best choice. Sometimes the smartest move is picking up something unfamiliar, asking a few questions, and cooking it with confidence. Butchers know which cuts are the real winners, and now that information isn’t a secret anymore. Next time at the store, skip the autopilot and try something different. The wallet and the dinner plate will both be better off for it.
