I know what you’re thinking. Chuck roast? You can’t have that as a steak you dingus! But lemme explain first, the article just started. Before we start, take a look at that gorgeous hunk of beef. That’s wagyu chuck roast. Look at all that fat! You would think this immaculate slab of cow would consume your entire pay check much like, per say, wagyu ribeye. But you’re wrong! Lemme show you.
$9.99 a pound! This fattier, more delicious cut of beef (that can feed multiple people) is more price friendly than a prime ribeye for one! But the trick is, you gotta treat it right. And I’m gonna show you the tricks of the trade. Thank me later.
So what makes this cut of meat different from others? Why isn’t it viewed like a giant ass steak? Well chuck comes from the shoulder of the cow. It’s a hard working muscle, so it’s got tons of beefy flavour, yet unlike some other hard working cuts, it’s got PLENTY of fat. It’s why it’s a sensational and common choice for burgers. The thing that makes it more suited to slow cooking, however, is the fact there’s a little bit of chew. It has tight tendons and sinew due to the laborious nature of the cut. It loses the tenderness battle outright to plenty of other steaks. But when it comes to fat and pure beefy flavour, chuck can even rival the gold standard ribeye and then some. Plus there’s some tricks to getting that tenderness to a plus level. One of the most important ones is dry brining, something you need to do for all your meats.
Now, I’m sure you’ve heard of a wet brine. It’s usually associated with poultry, most notably turkey. It’s where you immerse the bird in a salt water bath (with aromatics of your choosing) for a chosen amount of time (usually over night). It ensures the meat is nice and seasoned, as well as preserving it. Now for the other side of the coin. Dry brining, to put it in Layman’s terms, is simply putting copious amounts of salt on your beef, putting it on a wire rack, and sliding it into your fridge overnight. Hence the dry part. Revolutionary isn’t it? For how simple it is, what’s happening to the meat is a little more complex and scientific.
The salt brings out the natural moisture of the meat (the steak almost takes a shiny look with all the water on top after a few minutes or so), the moisture dissolves the salt, and the salted water goes back into the meat. All the while reshaping/dissolving muscle proteins. That’s called Osmosis (yes, the dude from Osmosis Jones, remember that film?). As put by Serious Eats, you’re tricking your beef into brining itself with no extra moisture. Wet brine trick y’all. As a result of this, the meat is seasoned throughout, comes out more tender due to the reshaped or dissolved proteins, and more importantly, has a dry surface that ensures you get a stupendous crust when searing. In technical ass terms, the mallard reaction will be much more profound and achieved much faster. Most meats are perfectly fine dry brining for a day/overnight in the fridge (you need that wire rack so the bottom of the steak can breathe). Two days could be needed for a THICC boy. But don’t get carried away. This shit isn’t like dry aging, that’s a completely different beast, so be careful with how long you leave it in the fridge. It’s something you can’t leave and forget about.
Now for the other piece of the puzzle. The reverse sear. Most people assume the main way to cook a hunk of meat is purely high heat until the steak comes to temperature. That’s fine in the steakhouses where the faster time is needed, but in the home, it’s not ideal. Why? Temperature gradient.
You see how the traditional cook has some grey “well done” parts surrounding the rosey pink centre? That’s because of the consistent high heat. Meanwhile with sous vide, which is cooking the steak in a submerged low temp heat water bath, it’s even through out. The reverse sear aims to get that very same result but in the oven rather than the water. We all have J. Kenji López-Alt to thank for revolutionising this technique. His magnum opus of an article details the technique in great detail, and I implore you to read it, but I’ll give you the high school cliff notes version here.
- Firstly, season the meat (because you dry brined it, it doesn’t need salt). Feel free to use coarse black pepper, or my personal choice, a rainbow pepper blend.
- Put it on a rack on a baking sheet.
- Start in a low oven (225–250 range).
- Check the meat frequently with a instant read thermometer but generally this should take 1–2 hours depending on the thickness.
- Take meat out 10–15 degrees below preferred doneness.
- Sear in cast iron (or the grill if it’s grilling szn), high heat, with any additional add ins (thyme, rosemary, garlic, butter for butter basting). This should only take a min or two each side for a bronze, spectacular crust.
- Reasons why this is so worth it: the temperature gradient is kept to an absolute minimum, surface moisture isn’t a problem so you get an amazing crust for the steak without any hassle, and there is zero worry of over cooking and under cooking. You’re in much better control over your meat compared to the standard way. There’s also no need to let the steak rest. It’s already settled.
So let’s all come back together. Combining all we know about the positives and negatives of chuck as well as the positives of both the dry brining process and the reverse sear process, how does this all transition into the reverse seared chuck roast? Like this.
Look at that crust! One of the major drawbacks of chuck, and perhaps the main reason of it’s price point, is the tougher chew. Because dry brining improves tenderness, that no longer becomes a problem. You just have to cook it rare to medium rare. Which is much easier to obtain thanks to the reverse sear process. The reverse sear is BUILT for thick cuts such as this. After you sear it in the cast iron, you can easily made a pan sauce from the leftover fond in the cast iron too! If you’re wondering, “this isn’t Man Vs Food! I can’t eat all of that!”, then that’s ok! You’re not supposed to. This is meant to be shared with others. And if you’re living that bachelor life, more leftovers for you! That means steak and eggs, chuck steak sandwiches, the possibilities are endless! So do yourself a favour and try this. You’ll thank me later. Fucking steak baby.
