Chuck Eye Steak Recipe: The Poor Man’s Ribeye

Chuck eye steak, also known as poor man’s ribeye, has a great flavor that’s just as good or better as its more expensive cousin. This chuck eye steak recipe has stood the test of time and remains one of my family’s favorite meals. 

I’d never heard of beef chuck eye steak but since the manufacturer’s suggested retail price is so enticing (especially compared to ribeye steak) I bought it anyway.

I learned how to cook chuck eye steaks by paying close attention to the advice given in my favorite foodie forums, Poor man’s rib eyes have been a staple at our house ever since.

Cheapskate that I am, we eat pretty much whatever goes on manager markdown at our local grocer. In addition to saving money, this has allowed me to explore different cuts of meat that wouldn’t normally make it onto my grocery list. Exploring different beef cuts and cooking methods is how I discovered how much we love this beef chuck eye recipe.

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What is Chuck Eye Steak?

Chuck eye is a steak that is derived from the Chuck Roll. The “eye” is an anatomical name meaning the “Eye” of the Chuck. It comes from the shoulder area of a cow and is known for its rich beefy flavor. If you’ve enjoyed flat iron steak in the past then you’ve sampled chuck meat before and I’m confident you’ll be a fan of chuck eye steak too.

Make sure your chuck steak is boneless. If there are bones present and it’s a little thicker than a steak, you might have yourself a chuck roast which is best prepared in a slow cooker rather than an iron skillet.

*Note that just because a cut of beef is no longer bright red, that doesn’t necessarily make it spoiled. Your grocer uses dioxide among other things to give beef that appetizing, unnatural, candy apple red color.

This may look pretty but it’s not natural nor is it an indicator of freshness. It’s purely psychological.

Use the sell-by date as a guide as well as your nose to determine whether or not a piece of meat is safe for consumption rather than going by color. 

Knowing this fact and realizing it’s a marketing technique will help you find all sorts of steak cuts on markdown that others are passing over. Go forth and save money, my friends.

Chuck Eye Steak vs. Ribeye

Foodie forums let me in on the secret about how to cook chuck eye steak that is just as tasty as ribeye and a whole lot cheaper. Thus its nickname “The Poor Man’s Ribeye.”

Since it isn’t a cut that requires the slow cooker I decided to try a restaurant-style steak recipe using the oven. Preparing your chuck eye steak with a hot cast iron pan and an oven makes this budget meat cut taste like a cut above the rest! 

Chuck Eye Steak Recipe Ingredients

Keto eaters, scroll down to the recipe card to check out the macros on these bad boys. I think you’ll be happy! 

Ingredients

• 2 Chuck-eye steaks (Regular chuck steaks are great but if you can Delmonico steak cuts even better!)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

How to Cook Chuck Eye Steaks

Remove the boneless chuck eye steaks from the refrigerator and bring them up to room temperature for best results.

Season the surface of the meat on both sides with salt and pepper. I used coarse Celtic sea salt. Kosher salt work as well.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil and half the butter in a cast iron pan on the stovetop as hot as you can get it!

You want it boiling lava hot. Make sure your kitchen exhaust is on high. Since I’m not lucky enough to have a kitchen exhaust that actually vents outside, I even open a kitchen window for this part.

There will be some smoke, but I promise it’s worth it for that nice sear that you just can’t get any other way. 

Since I learned how to cook chuck eye steak, this iron skillet has been on my wishlist just for the silicone holder. It’s cheaper to buy the skillet with the holder than without (go fig) and it’s a nice option to have since you’ll be handling the skillet quite a bit from stovetop to oven.

Update: I feel a little ignorant for not know this but you can order the silicone hot pan covers by themselves from an online merchant without having to buy a new pan. 

Silicone Iron Skillet Handle Cover

This is good news for your wallet and for those of us who have an heirloom cast iron skillet that we love to use. I just ordered one!

Once both sides are seared, place the skillet in the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes. I misunderstood the original directions and transferred the steaks before placing them in the oven. They turned out delicious either way. It’s easier just to place the skillet in there though.

Bake 6-8 minutes depending on steak thickness and desired level of doneness. I’ve been eating juicy steak since Kindergarten and personally think it’s a crime to eat any steak cooked more than medium-rare, but especially with a chuckeye steak. The best way to cook a chuck eye steak is cooking it a little less done than you normally prefer due to the cut. Trust me on this! Overcooked chuck eye no longer tastes like a prime cut.

Hubs is a medium-well kind of guy but he eats his chuck eye medium-rare. If you need a guide to determine steak doneness, check out the video below:

Steak Temperature Guide

If you want to be precise and use a meat thermometer, here is the internal temperature guide for steak doneness. Once you’ve make chuck steaks a few times though, you’ll probably be able to tell when they are just right from the “springiness” alone without cutting into your chuck steaks or checking the final temperature with a thermometer.

• Rare – 130 to 135°
• Medium Rare – 140°F to 145°F
• Medium – 155°F to 160°F
• Well Done – 165°F to 170°F

And that is how to cook chuck eye steak to perfection. Great job! I served my chuck roast steak recipe with a tablespoon of herb butter. This chuck eye steak recipe tasted as good as a steak from our favorite local steak restaurant for an economical price. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

 

Where to find Chuck Eye Steak

This continues to be one of our favorite dinners. I’ve yet to find a great chuck eye steak price anywhere locally but Kroger, so if you’re struggling to make your “poor man’s ribeye” poor enough, check there or your local butcher.

I just loaded my freezer with 5 twin packs of boneless chuck steaks that were marked down for clearance. Best of luck!

Update: I’ve since found chuck eye steaks at our local Walmart, though not as often as I find them at Kroger. I’m guessing the secret is out about this cut, and with good reason. “The first rule of chuck steak is you don’t tell people about chuck steak.” OOPS!

The good news is that your new favorite cut of beef will be more readily available at more grocery stores. The bad news is you may have trouble finding them on clearance anymore since they’ve increased in popularity. We may have to change the “poor man’s ribeye” moniker to “budget ribeye” if we can’t find them for such low prices anymore. It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it though, does it?

Tips for Making This Low Carb Dish

If you’re eating keto, you’ll be happy with the amount of fat and protein in this beef cut. (If you’re not eating keto, then look away!) With 46 grams of fat, 22 grams of protein, and zero sugar or net carbs, this steak is made for low-carb, high-fat diets like keto.

Slathering your chuck steak in butter is another way to add even more fat to your protein just in case this steak cut didn’t deliver enough for you. Gotta get those macros in!

Serve this Southern Style Cabbage recipe with your chuck eye steak for a complete keto meal.