Here’s a truth. I rarely buy expensive steak. Unless the grocery store runs one of their awesome 2 for $11 filet deals, I’m sticking with my beef chuck eye steak. At less than $5 per pound, you can’t beat them. Cooking or grilling chuck eye steaks at home means steak dinner on a budget! I’ll show you how to cook chuck eye steaks so they taste like rib eyes in this EASY beef chuck eye steak recipe.
Plus, beef chuck eye steak is usually smaller than ribeye, so one per person is the perfect size.
Now, with a little TLC these cheap cuts of steak are amazingly tasty. They are often toted as the “poor man’s rib eye.“ And that’s definitely a compliment to the beef chuck eye steak.
What Is Chuck Eye Steak?
Chuck eye steak is a smaller steak that is similar to ribeye, but much more affordable. Here’s the difference…
Is Beef Chuck Eye Steak The Same As Ribeye?
No, chuck eye steak and ribeye steak are not the same, but they are close. Rib eyes are from the 6th to the 12th rib of the cow and the chuck eye is from the 5th rib. Because they are located so close to each other, they do have some of the same flavor and tenderness as the ribeye.
Chuck eye steak is also not the same as chuck steak (again, different parts of the cow), but they are right next to each other. Once you try this beef chuck eye steak recipe, you’ll see that it’s way more tender than a regular chuck steak!
I practically jump for joy when chuck eye steak is in stock, since there’s only two chuck eye steaks per cow. I usually buy all they have and freeze what I don’t use.
Are Chuck Steaks Any Good?
Yes! Chuck eye steak is really good. I love it! And I’ll show you just how to cook chuck eye steak so that it turns out delicious and tender.
How To Cook Chuck Eye Steak On A Grill or Stove Top
Lets talk for a second about how to get the BEST flavor out of these tender cuts of meat.
First, you need to season it really well. Don’t be afraid of the salt and pepper. You want to be able to see a thick coat of seasoning on each side.
I usually season mine and place them in the refrigerator for one to two hours uncovered. This forms a nice crust on the steak.
Alternatively, you can marinate your chuck eye steaks with balsamic steak marinade.
Second, you can either grill them on the grill OR in a grill pan on the stove. I personally always choose the grill whenever possible. Brush the grates with a bit of coconut oil or avocado oil before placing the steak down so they don’t stick.
Third, you’ll also want to make a quick herb butter to top the grilled chuck steak with. I usually do this right when I season the steaks, so the butter can have a few hours to develop its flavors as well.
(I gladly use grass-fed butter and consider these paleo. However, if you’d like, you can either skip the compound butter or use ghee instead.)
You can really do whatever you want here. I just use what I have on hand. Parsley, cilantro, chives, rosemary, chiles, garlic, and different seasonings all work well.
TIP: Use about 1 tablespoon of herbs per 2 tablespoons of butter and then whatever other seasonings you want.
Tailor the combo to the other items you’re making. Check out this article 5 Compound Butter Recipes for more inspiration! You can also try garlic herb butter or this garlic herb steak butter. I’ll give you a quick recipe for a chili herb butter at the end of this post!
That’s all there is to it. Now you know how to cook chuck steak on the grill or stove top, you’ll never need to buy expensive steaks again!
Grilling Chuck Eye Steaks: How Long To Cook Chuck Steak On The Grill?
The cooking time for chuck steak will vary based on the size and thickness and how done you like them!
A medium rare chuck steak will take about 5 minutes per side, but I prefer using a meat thermometer so that I know exactly when it’s done.
Chuck Eye Steak Nutrition
A 6 oz chuck eye steak has:
- 470 calories
- 34 grams of fat
- 42 grams of protein
- 0 grams of carbohydrates, sugars, fiber
What To Serve With This Beef Chuck Eye Steak Recipe
Need some easy side dish ideas to pair with your beef chuck eye steak? Try these:
Have you used these tips to make your Chuck Eye steak recipe taste like Rib Eyes? Leave a comment below!
RECIPE CARD
How to Make Chuck Eye Steaks With Chili Herb Butter
How to make cheap chuck eye steaks taste like ribeyes the EASY way! This easy chuck eye steak recipe that will teach you how to make a delicious steak dinner on a budget.
Recipe Video
Click or tap on the image below to play the video and learn how to make this recipe!
Ingredients
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- 4 6-oz Chuck eye steaks
- Coarse sea salt
- Black pepper
- 1/4 cup Grass-fed butter (softened; or ghee for strict paleo)
- 1 tablespoon Fresh parsley (minced)
- 1/2 tablespoon Fresh cilantro (minced)
- 1/2 tablespoon Fresh chives (minced)
- 1/2 medium Fresno chili (minced)
Instructions
More TIPS about this paleo recipe in the post above!
Season steaks with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Place on a plate and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, uncovered.
Make butter by combining softened butter with minced parsley, minced cilantro, minced chives, and minced Fresno chili. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mold together and store covered in the refrigerator until steaks are ready to be cooked.
Preheat the grill to high and brush grates with a little coconut oil. Grill steaks to your liking. Medium rare will take about 5 minutes per side.
- Top with a tablespoon of herb butter each and serve.
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 6-oz steak
Video Showing How To Make Chuck Eye Steak:
Don't miss the VIDEO above - it's the easiest way to learn how to make Chuck Eye Steak!
Nutrition Information Per Serving
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. Net carb count excludes both fiber and sugar alcohols (though the latter are rarely seen on this site), because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.
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37 Comments
Sandi
Tender and delicious!! I always look for these. Thank you for the wonderful article and recipe.
Herbie
Back in 2002 to 2010 or so, my local small grocery store (who cuts their own meat in house) had chuck eye states for 3.99 pound. I lived off them for years (still do). This went on for almost a decade. I never told anyone about them, stumbled onto them out of curiosity. Then they went up to 5.99 a pound up until probably 2015. Now they have jumped to 10.00 a pound. Most of the time the rib eyes at this store are just too lean, so I always go for chuck eyes. There’s actually a secret in how to pick the best ones (assuming there are even several to choose from). I’ll keep that one to myself.
Dan Smith
Tenderist steak I ever had
I eat a lot of steaks
Deb
You make a point of saying you can either cook them on the grill or on the stove top, but you don’t give instructions for stove top cooking.
Ellen
Loved my chuck eye steak tonight! Never have bought it before. Yum! Thank you for making it easy to be delicious. I didn’t have all the goodies to add to the butter but I added other herbs and spices I had and it was good.
Arlene
Do you grill with the cover up or down?
Tammy
Followed your recipe ….. It was delicious! First time we have tried chuck eye steaks. Loved the butter topping! Will do it again! Thank you!
Camille Garrett
Have used Chuck eyes for yrs. Back in the day they were called the butchers cut cause only 2 in a cow and the butchers saved them for their family….just little trivia…yes use to be 4.99 a pd. Then slowly went up when ppl found how good they are. Yesterday price 6/2020 was 9.99 a pd at Publix when you can find them. Yep grilling tonite!
Ken Huey
I went shopping for some rib eyes for Memorial Day , sold out. Then I saw the chuck eye, looked good and marbled, so I thought wth I want a steak. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe, Sounds like I found a diamond in the rough, cant wait. Thank you
Mark
I bought these and had always bought ribeyes or porterhouse but these were $7 per pound and just the right size. I was prepared for a chewy tougher steak. I grilled them and they were amazingly tender and good. I have never heard of the cut before. I was glad to find your website. I will try the suggestions you have provided next time.
Connie
They have become almost as expensive as a regular steak on sale (only about $1 – $2 per lb.. cheaper) here in NE Ohio. Same thing happened with flat iron steak. The stores catch on to these trends, and when they start to see a demand, the prices get jacked up. You just can’t win. But I do watch for quick sale (sell date limits), then I pounce. Picked up a couple this week. Looking forward to trying this. Thanks for the recipe!
Cathy
As a senior citizen I cannot handle a cast iron pan anymore. Can I use a good fry pan?
Lauren
Hi Cathy, Yes, you can. The key is one that heats up very hot and evenly.
Rick
I love ribeyes but also enjoy a good chuckeye as well. I actually slightly prefer the texture of a nicely prepared chuckeye.Made a couple tonight and they were awesome as always
First coat them with a little Worcestershire (add a dash of liquid smoke for awesomeness) course salt, pepper, thyme leaves (dried) and a little garlic powder
seal and sous vide for 90 minutes at 127
then drop sealed steaks into an ice water bath for about 20 minutes or more
remove steaks from pouch, sear in cast iron skillet with a low smoke oil turning about every 30 seconds until you get a nice crust – maybe 4 minutes total give or take. They are already cooked to a medium rare so don’t over do it
add a thin coat of sweet baby rays and tell every one you made some ribeyes
they will believe you
Cathy
I love ribeyes but they can become expensive when you have to buy more than two, so this was a great alternative!! And I love the herb butter on top, just perfect!
Kelly Anthony
This was such a good read. I have never seen or heard of a chuck eye steak. I know what I’ll be looking for at the store next time we are wanting steak. Thanks for sharing.
Laura
It’s interesting how there are so many different ways to make the same dish. And I really enjoyed finding out another recipe to make a chuck eye steak. Thank you.
Krystle
Perfect juicy tender steak, tasted better than our local steakhouse!
Lauren
Such great information in this recipe and the images looks amazing! Definitely glad I tried it, especially that butter!
Chef
I’ve always been a fan of steak recipes! Surely pinning this up.
Justine
I’ve never had chuck eye steak! I’m definitely going to start looking for it now, though – it looks super tasty!
Renee Sollock
Your recipe seems spot on! I have always used these since I discovered them…they try to hide the few pkgs they have from the roasts behind the skirt steaks! lol…and I do buy them up for when company comes. here lately though they seem tougher to chew, so I quit buying them. I love med rare on the rare side, cut it correctly, but still end up chewing and chewing etc.
any advice?
Mel Jordan
I buy mine from the butcher shop. It’s my favorite cut besides ribeye. Salt, pepper and garlic is what the butcher said was needed (same as the ribeye) Usually cook mine in a cast iron skillet with butter and it turns out awesome every time. After tasting meat from the butcher shop, I’ll never buy meat at a grocery store, again. Hands down it’s worth the extra money for quality meat. It’s choice certified black Angus beef. No antibiotics or steroids. I suggest if you have a local butcher shop to try their steaks and like me you’ll never buy supermarket meat again. I am going to try your butter recipe
John Thomas
Good idea, with a little love cheap cuts can be made pretty good.
John
Paul A Whitehead
This recipe made this steak phenomenal! I had never had a chuck eye steak before, but I am sold on them now. They were bites of the steak that reminded me of bites of ribeyes from Oklahoma steak houses. I’ve shared this recipe with my family and friends. I am a poor man, a.k.a. college student, and I have found my ribeye. Thank you so much for sharing.
Henry
Can’t wait to try. Having some variation of this for lunch tomorrow.
Henry
Loved this when I did it. Having again in a couple hours. I’ll be eating at 2 am but it is worth it.
Y
Yummy!! The recipe images looked so good I just had to try it :). Thanks for making us understand the dish process in clear.
Charlotte
THANK YOU for such a wonderful tutorial! My husband is the “grill master” around my house, but this tutorial was a lifesaver. AND, it gives me another reason to buy more steak this week. Thanks.
Atlas Steak
That herb butter, my goodness! Chuck eyes were good and going to try this out with a top round steak next.
Des
I have never seen this cut before but I will absolutely be on the look out for it now. And I’m love, love, loving the compound butter. yum!
Pam
I love earth fare’s steak sales too, but it’s good to know I can do this for all those other days!
Shannon
I love the idea of getting a cheaper cut of beef. And my favorite thing to add to a steak is a slab of herb butter. Yum! Are there other names I should look for when I see this steak or is “chuck eye” the only name I should be looking for?
Lauren
Just chuck eye! If you don’t see them ask the butcher. Sometimes they’re willing to cut you some if they don’t have them in the case.
Martha
Great tips for cooking a less expensive cut of beef! And I totally love that herbed butter…
Lauren
Thanks Martha! The butter is the best!
Marye
This is totally brilliant! It was fantastic. 🙂