Chuck. Blade. Paleron. Flatiron steak. Chicken steak...so many names for this piece of beef from the shoulder.
Staring happily at the chicken steak in the display case at Dickson's Farmstand at the Chelsea Market, I asked the girl serving me where exactly on the shoulder it belongs, as I have no idea how to tell butchers in parts foreign what a chicken steak is. Ain't none of them heard of its French name, paleron.
I have only ever seen it at Los Paisanos on Smith Street in Brooklyn, and I always use it for boeuf bourgignon; at least, ever since I ate it at Les Halles, for Anthony Bourdain's 50th birthday party.
In case you're wondering, it was not a very exclusive affair. The place was jammed solid with upright people, cradling bowls of the boeuf, which was served en masse with impeccable frites. I had his then-editor, Mr Gianopoulous to thank for the invitation (thanks again, Mr G). Surprisingly, it was the best boeuf bourgignon I had ever eaten, and as soon as the Les Halles Cookbook was in my hands, and I had read the recipe, that boeuf was my boeuf - except I still use bacon, which he does not - recipe here, at 66 Square Feet (the Food) and a lot more red wine. Point is, Mr Bourdain specified chicken steak. And that makes all the difference.
So...when I told the friendly Dickson's girl that it's what I use for boeuf bourgignon, she said, very brightly, Oh no, that's a waste of chicken steak, you should use chuck!
Um. This was confusing. I thought it was a type of chuck.
I have eaten that same recipe made with plain old "chuck," cooked by the same Mr G's then-girlfriend, when we were still on speaking terms, before she wrote The Book. Though tenderish, it still had that stringy, chucky feel. Chicken steak, on the other hand, with its distinctive central seam of fat around a tender cartilage, dissolves in your mouth.
"A waste of chicken steak?" I don't think so. That boeuf is divine.
The problem for Web surfers and cooks is that the definition of chuck is very broad. There is chuck and there is chuck. There could be good chuck and bad chuck. But chicken steak is chuck. All from the shoulder of the beef. But the Dicksons girl couldn't tell me where, exactly.
In short: It it doesn't have that seam dividing the steak down the middle, it ain't chicken steak.
So. Anyone else have another name for this piece of meat? [See comments.]
This steak is also known as top blade steak. The tender, juicy top blade steak comes from the shoulder clod and resembles a flank steak. Top blade steak can be grilled, skillet cooked, or stir-fried, and it is one of the most tender, richly flavored steaks. I think it's a great cut to use for "BB"
ReplyDeleteIt's the same muscle that the flat iron steak is cut from the chicken steak is cut the the way as loin steaks ware as the flat Iron is trim well the cut horizontaly from the fat seam leaving you with 2 steaks. The girl may have been referring to the Chuckeye steak. This steak is found in the first 3 or four ribs on the chuck roll just before it flows to in to the rib and loin they are very tender like Delmonico
DeleteIn NZ we knew it as blade.Top blade for the better piece. My mother always asked (or sent me to ask) for it as such, rather than "stewing steak" or "gravy beef" for which the butcher tended to give one shin!
ReplyDeleteBut in those days, the meat was all grass-fed and often farm-killed.
What the heck you get now I don't know.
Chicken steak is new to me!
Thank you, Anonymous - top blade it is!
ReplyDeleteDinahmow - another vote for blade. Judging by the amount of marbling in this meat (not much) this beef probably is grass fed...I should have asked. They say they source everything locally.
It's also known to butchers as Chuck beef chicken steak
DeleteAnother thought, Marie...in what season is the beast killed? It can make a difference, especially in drought-prone areas.
ReplyDeleteOh, look! WV is cowaw
WV creeps me out, sometimes, like the ads google pops up after one has written an email about bunnies, and suddenly there's an ad for bunny slippers. Big bunny is watching us...
ReplyDeleteDrought, hm, might apply more to you. Most grainfed stock in the US are sent to feedlots to be fattened up for several months before slaughter, so their diet is pretty detached from weather.
In Michigan, it's a "petite" steak. It's from the clod. The same part where the English Roast comes. You can cut the petite out and have both petite steaks and English roasts.
ReplyDeleteIn PA we sell them as flat irons and chicken steaks. The English Roast we use to make those from the heart of the shoulder..The Chuck the girl may have been referring to is the "chuckeye" at the very of the Chuck Roll right before the chuck flows into the rib eye and Delmonico
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ReplyDeleteThe girl’s name was Christine. She didn’t want you to cook the chicken steak long and slow, like in a bourguignon, because it was so tender already. We always recommended a lighter cooking time for chicken steak in order to revel in in its unreal resemblance to tenderloin despite the line of sinew. The top blade is the second most tender cut and I’m sure if you were nicer I would have asked Adam the butcher to point out the exact location of this cut.
ReplyDeleteIt's so unusual and welcome to see a comment on a thirteen-year old post! Are you Christine?? I'm not sure what made you say "I'm sure if you were nicer..."? I am pretty polite and respectful, especially to butchers. Expressing surprise doesn't imply rudeness. Also, it was the middle of winter, and I really wanted boeuf bourgignon. In the years since then I have eaten chicken steak quite often as straight-up steak. And I do like it, a lot. It's also much easier to find, now. If you ever try the slow beef stew, it's incredibly good with this cut. Please feel free to reach out directly via email.
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