Chuck primal · Beef cut guide
Denver Steak
Denver steak is a beef cut from the serratus ventralis muscle in the chuck (shoulder) primal, popularized in the US in the late 2000s by the Beef Innovations Group. Despite coming from the chuck, a region traditionally associated with tough braising cuts, the serratus ventralis is one of the most tender muscles on the steer when properly butchered, with strong marbling and a price-to-quality ratio that has made it a butcher-counter favorite.
Anatomy and naming
The serratus ventralis sits underneath the shoulder blade on each side of the steer. It is one of the few non-loin muscles that scores high on the "tenderness index" used by US beef researchers, comparable to strip steak in tenderness despite being five anatomical primals away. Until 2009 it was typically ground or stewed because butchers had not figured out how to extract it cleanly; the Denver cut technique changed that, and the cut quickly became one of the highest-value alternatives to mainstream steaks.
A Denver steak is a 1.5-2 cm thick, oval-to-rectangular cut weighing 200-300 g per portion. It marbles well (often Choice-tier on a Prime carcass, comparable to a strip steak in marbling density), has a fine grain running predictably across the cut, and cooks like a steak rather than like the rest of the chuck. Japan has long used the equivalent muscle as "zabuton" (literally "cushion") for premium Wagyu. A5 zabuton is one of the prized cuts in Japanese Wagyu service.
Also known as
Denver cut · Underblade steak · Zabuton (Japan, similar concept) · Chuck under blade
USDA beef carcass diagram - Denver Steak sits in the Chuck primal
How to spot a good one
Visual markers
A 1.5-2 cm thick oval or rectangular cut, 200-300 g portion size
Strong, even marbling. Denver marbles unusually well for a chuck-region cut, often Choice-tier on Prime carcasses
Fine grain running cleanly across the cut
Bright red lean color with white firm fat
Minimal external fat trim (most fat is intramuscular, not on the surface)
Cooking, on Pro
Cook denver steak like its grade
MeatGrader Pro gives you a cooking guide tailored to the exact cut and quality grade in front of you. Temperature, time, primary and alternative methods, resting, pairings.
A USDA Prime denver steak gets a different guide than a Choice denver steak, and an A5 BMS 9 wagyu cut gets something else again. Generic recipes do not know which one you have. Pro does.
Free with 3 analyses on signup. Pro is $1.99/month for unlimited analyses + the cooking guide.
How it grades
Grading denver steak
Denver is graded at the carcass level under USDA / CBGA / KAPE / MSA / JMGA. Because the cut sits in the chuck primal, it tracks one tier below the carcass's ribeye marbling, a USDA Prime carcass produces a Choice-tier Denver. Wagyu Denver (A5 BMS 7+) is exceptional and commands premium pricing in Japan. MeatGrader scores Denver on marbling density and grain quality, with the same factor weights as a strip steak.
FAQ
Common questions about denver steak
What people ask most about picking, cooking, and grading this cut.
Score any denver steak from a photo
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